Apple has licensed its design patents -- some of the same patents that are involved in a heated court battle with Samsung -- to Microsoft.
Boris Teksler, patent licensing director for Apple, mentioned the licensing deal Monday during his testimony in Apple vs. Samsung.
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During Teksler’s testimony he indicated Apple made a number of patents available for licensing, and had offered Samsung the option to do so; however, the company had declined.
Patents that cover what he referred to as the "unique user experience," including the look and feel of the iPad, are in a highly protected category that isn’t currently licensed to any company.
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The company does, however, have a cross-licensing agreement in place with Microsoft covering the patents cited in the company’s suit with Samsung. In that agreement Teksler said there were “anti-cloning” provisions in place that prevents Microsoft from creating copycat products.
Apple reportedly offered to license its portfolio of patents to Samsung in October 2010 to the tune of $30 per smartphone and $40 per tablet. The company also offered Samsung a 20% discount on those patents if it chose to cross-license its patent portfolio back to Apple.
Apple approached Samsung with the deal reportedly because Samsung was a strategic supplier to Apple. Teksler indicated that both Steve Jobs and then COO Tim Cook spoke to Samsung about the issue. “We didn’t understand how a trusted partner would build a copycat product like that,”
In 2010 Samsung would have owed Apple in the neighborhood of $250 million. Apple is now seeking an astounding $2.5-$2.7 billion from the handset maker in its court case.
[via Reuters, All Things D]
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, here.