Apple and Samsung Fail to Reach Deal Over Patent Issues in Recent Mediation Meeting

Last month, it was reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon agreed to attend a mediation session on or before February 19 ahead of a second patent infringement lawsuit between the two companies set for next month. Now, ZDNet Korea [Google Translate] (via The Verge) is reporting that both companies met in the United States last week but failed to reach an agreement in their ongoing legal battle.

The report notes that Cook met with Samsung mobile division chief J.K. Shin to discuss a possible settlement, but did not make any significant progress towards a deal. Korean newspaper Choshun [Google Translate] states that Shin was originally expected to fly out to the United States next week before the court-imposed deadline on the meeting, but now has no plans to do so, indicating that the session has already taken place.

In late December, The Korea Times reported the two companies had resumed settlement talks in their ongoing negotiations over their patent-infringement dispute, as Samsung executive Shin Jong-Kyun was expected to meet with Cook. Previously, the Apple CEO met with former Samsung CEO Choi Gee-Sung in 2012 to discuss the subject, but talks fell through because Samsung would not accept Apple's demand for patent royalties. The two companies also met last year in Seoul, Korea but discussions failed to progress.

Notably, Shin was quoted in November 2012 as saying that Samsung has "no such intention" in settling with Apple over patent issues, as HTC and Apple announced that they had reached a global settlement on their patent dispute earlier that month.

The second patent infringement lawsuit between Apple and Samsung is set to begin on March 31, as Apple's Chief of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller will be among the witnesses. Samsung will only have four patents claims to bring to the upcoming trial, as Judge Koh invalidated two of its patent claims last month.