Apple-Samsung patent peace talks set for May date

Apple and Samsung are reported to have agreed a date for settlement talks designed to prevent the firms' long-running patent disputes from going before a jury.

The talks will kick off on 21 May in San Francisco and be overseen by magistrate judge Joseph Spero, according to patent analyst Florian Mueller.

The two sides agreed to the talks at the behest of judge Lucy Koh, who is scheduled to hear the case in the event that no agreement is reached.

The two sides have been engaged in dozens of patent disputes across the globe.

V3 contacted Samsung and Apple for clarification on the settlement talk dates but had received no reply at time of publication.

Last week, Apple chief executive Tim Cook, who will be present at the peace talks, hinted that the firm may be softening its stance in patent disputes.

Cook told those listening the company's earnings call that he hated litigation and would much prefer to settle patent disputes than wage battles.

But whether that signifies a change of strategy remains to be seen.

Cook also said that Apple wanted to be certain that competitors were not stealing its ideas.

“The key thing is that Apple not become the developer for the world. We need people to invent their own stuff,” he said.

Apple and Samsung have been at loggerheads over the design and technologies used to power their highly profitable lines of tablets and smartphones.