Apple and Samsung agree to mediation

Apple and Samsung have agreed to enter into mediation to help resolve the long-running patent dispute between the pair.

In an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) statement submitted on Monday, September 28 at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the companies said they will try to settle their dispute. In 2012 Samsung was fined $930 million for patent and trade dress infringement.

Judge Joseph Spero will preside over the discussions in November at the Californian court.

Apple is currently fighting for a total of $548 million in damages connected to the 2012 court victory.

In that decision, the California court ruled that Samsung had infringed several patents owned by Apple and its trade dress. Samsung was initially fined $930 million.

But in May 2015, after Samsung had appealed against the decision, a three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated $382 million from the ruling that was related to trade dress dilution, meaning Samsung’s total fine stands at $548 million.

On August 23, the federal circuit declined to hear the suit en banc.

Although Judge Lucy Koh, the presiding judge at the California district court, confirmed the $548 million amount earlier this year, Samsung announced it would appeal against the decision.

Apple and Samsung previously agreed to court-supervised mediation in 2014, but a solution could not be reached.