Apple and Google looking to settle patent dispute

Cellphone patent lawsuits have gotten out of hand recently, with the various big players squabbling over ridiculous patents such as “rounded edges”. Samsung recently lost an enormous lawsuit to Apple in which they were ordered to pay the princely sum of $1 billion – ouch.

Now it would appear that Apple and Google are attempting to settle their differences with arbitration, rather than continuing to battle it out in the courtroom. Google is a force in the mobile patent arena, having purchased Motorola mostly for that purpose (the ongoing lawsuit is in fact Apple Inc. V. Motorola Mobility inc., which is a Google subsidiary).

The news comes via a court filing obtained by Bloomberg.

“Apple is also interested in resolving its dispute with Motorola completely and agrees that arbitration may be the best vehicle to resolve the parties’ dispute,” Apple said in the filing.

“We have long sought a path to resolving patent issues and we welcome the chance to build on the constructive dialogue between our companies,” Google General Counsel Kent Walker said in a filed letter to Apple. “While we prefer to seek a framework for a global (rather than piecemeal) resolution that addresses all of our patent disputes, we are committed to reaching agreement on a license for our respective standard-essential patents.”

“Apple’s goal has always been to find a mutual and transparent process to resolve this dispute on terms that are fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory without the threat or taint of exclusionary remedies,” Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell said in a letter to Google.

An agreement here could also impact other Android hardware vendors.