Apple And Microsoft Have “Anti-Cloning” Patent Agreement

A deal between Apple and Microsoft has allowed the latter to use the iPhone maker’s patents but not build “clones” of devices, according to various reports.

The details of the deal came out in the Apple vs. Samsung patent trial, thanks to comments from Apple’s patent licensing director Boris Teksler. “There was no right with respect to these design patents to build clones of any type,” he said, talking of the agreement with Microsoft.

The patents included in the deal with Microsoft are reportedly the same as those being argued over in court between Apple and Samsung. Apple claimed to have offered the South Korean manufacturer a similar deal, but negotiations were not successful.

An old partnership?

According to The Verge, the “anti-cloning” agreement stems back to a cross-licensing deal signed by Apple and Microsoft back in 1997. However, given the patents being dealt with are newer, that agreement may have been updated, or Teksler could have been referring to a new deal.

Apple continues to argue that Samsung infringed its product patents, but Samsung this week hit back, arguing that there was ample “prior art” in the marketplace before the iPhone appeared.

Called to the stand by Apple, Terry Musika, who testified as an expert in calculating damages in a civil lawsuit, claimed Samsung generated $488 million (£311m) in profits, which he termed “unjust enrichment” from copying iPhone and iPad designs.

US District Judge Lucy Koh has said she hoped Apple and Samsung would present their closing arguments next week, meaning the $2.5 billion (£1.6bn) suit could be over soon.

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