A few weeks ago HTC and Apple announced they came to an patent licensing agreement. HTC may have agreed to avoid any lawsuits Apple may throw at them, but since the deal has been done, HTC maybe feeling the burn after realizing the kind of deal they set up with Apple. Apple is definitely pulling a robbery with the deal they have set up with HTC.
HTC has today called estimates that it’s paying $6-$8 per phone to Apple “very, very, wrong.” The two companies recently settled their differences by dropping all litigation between them and signing a cross-licensing patent agreement that will last for 10 years. After the agreement was made public, speculation was rampant as to how much HTC — which is widely assumed to be paying Apple a fee as part of the deal — would give Apple per phone sale.
When asked if the $6-$8 figure was accurate, HTC CEO Peter Chou called the estimate “baseless… an outrageous number.” He refused to provide specifics, but said he believes “we have a very, very happy settlement and a good ending.” For more on why HTC decided to cross-license its patents with Apple.
[Theverge]
