Apple has to reveal how much money its getting from HTC in a patent settlement to Samsung, a judge ruled.
Apple settled all patent litigation with HTC two weeks ago. They also entered into a ten-year licensing agreement. The terms of their deal were never disclosed.
Analyst Shaw Wu at Sterne Agee said he Apple was getting $6-$8 for every HTC phone sold. HTC's CEO later issued a non-denial denial about that number saying, "I think that these estimates are baseless and very, very wrong. It is a outrageous number, but I'm not going to comment anything on a specific number. I believe we have a very, very happy settlement and a good ending."
If Wu's numbers were right, then Apple could bring in $2-$3 billion over ten years from HTC. That's more money than Apple won in its successful patent lawsuit with Samsung in the U.S., where a jury awarded Apple $1 billion.
That Samsung suit with Apple is ongoing, and Samsung won the right to see how much Apple is charging for its patents. Only Samsung and Apple's lawyers will be allowed to see the agreement, says Charles Smith at The Guardian.
Apple has tried to settle with Samsung, but Samsung thought Apple wanted too much for its patents. It will be interesting for Samsung to see how much HTC paid. If Apple gave HTC a discount on patents, Samsung will likely try to use this in court.
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