Apple, Samsung CEOs talk but no trial settlement reached

Reuters: The chief executives of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have talked but did not settle the high stakes patent dispute between the two electronics companies, a Samsung attorney said in court on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh had requested that the two talk on the phone at least once more before the jury begins deliberating this week.

Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute that mirrors the struggle for industry supremacy between the two rivals that control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

Apple accuses Samsung of copying the design and some features of its iPad and iPhone, and is asking for a sales ban in addition to monetary damages. South Korea’s Samsung, which is trying to expand in the United States, says Apple infringed several patents, including some for its key wireless technology.

Top executives from both companies had participated in mediation with a U.S. magistrate judge before trial, but Koh asked them to explore settlement once again.

“I see risks here for both sides,” Koh said last week.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday. In court on Monday, Samsung attorney Kevin Johnson told Koh nothing had come from the talk.

“We will see you tomorrow,” Johnson said.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, No. 11-1846.

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