Last year, the CEOs of Apple and Samsung were compelled by the presiding judge in their trial to meet face-to-face in hopes of working out a settlement and an otherwise amicable solution to their heated patent-related war.
No resolution was reached via this method. But the lack of a positive example isn’t stopping U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte from following a similar course of action with Apple and Amazon. According to Bloomberg:
Apple is seeking a court order to block Amazon from using the term Appstore in its service to sell software for devices running Google Inc.’s Android operating system. Apple alleges the online retailer infringes its trademark and violates unfair competition laws.
Judge Laporte is ordering Apple and Amazon to hold settlement talks this spring as a way to hopefully bring about a resolution to their ongoing battle.
On March 21st, Apple, Amazon, and their respective legal teams will meet to negotiate a settlement.
If no resolution is reached – and there’s an excellent chance of that reality coming to pass – the matter will go to trial in August.
