Earlier this month HTC and Apple reached a global patent settlement and a 10-year licensing agreement. The two companies did not reveal any details of the settlement or the licensing agreement, but HTC has said it will not change its fourth-quarter guidance. Now, according to Reuters, HTC has spoken out against media estimates of the settlement, saying the reports are “baseless” and “outrageous.”
Speaking at a product launch in Tokyo, HTC CEO Peter Chou denied analyst estimates that HTC would pay Apple $6 to $8 per Android phone as part of the settlement. Here’s what he had to say:
“I think that these estimates are baseless and very, very wrong. It is a outrageous number, but I’m not going to comment anything on a specific number. I believe we have a very, very happy settlement and a good ending.”
The patent battle between the two companies began in 2010 when Apple sued the Taiwanese handset maker. This was Apple’s first major legal dispute with a manufacturer using Google’s Android operating system. Since then, global patent wars have taken off between Apple and other competitors, including Samsung and Google’s Motorola Mobility.
Image Credit: TechnoBuffalo
