Apple ties anti-cloning provision to Samsung patent settlement

Apple and Samsung CEOs are set to meet for their settlement negotiations on or before February 19. There is likely to be some discussion and flexibility around the settlement and license fees that change hands but if Samsung wants a deal, it will have to accept an anti-cloning provision, as HTC did before it, that would allow Apple to still bring lawsuits if Samsung products resembled Apple’s offerings too closely, reports FOSS Patents.

Apple and Samsung are gearing up for a second U.S. patent lawsuit slated to begin March 31, but were requested by the court to at least attempt to reach a settlement before that date.  According to a report by Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, a primary barrier to reaching a deal may be Apple’s stipulation that it include an anti-cloning provision.  Mueller wrote that “Samsung may hate the notion of an anti-cloning provision,” adding “it’s definitely at odds with the strategy that enabled Samsung to become the global market leader in smartphones.”