November 13, 2012 - Bringing to an end a multi-year, multi-million dollar patent fight that was widely seen as a proxy war against Google, Apple and smartphone manufacturer HTC have come to a settlement agreement.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but according to Apple's extremely brief press release on the matter, it includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a 10-year cross-licensing agreement that covers current and future patents belonging to both parties.
The settlement between Apple and HTC has been viewed as a significant step in Apple's battle against all things Android - although, as a writer in Time magazine notes, "This agreement is not an end to overall hostilities between Apple and Google. In fact, it could just be the first step in a lengthy, complex and contentious series of patent-licensing deals between these two companies."