Reported Apple, Samsung Settlement Talks Actually Never Happened

The Korea Times reported earlier this week that Apple (AAPL) and Samsung have been trying since May 5 to hammer out an agreement to end all future patent litigation between the two companies. According to the report, the talks were said to have a similar feel to Apple’s make-nice agreement with Google (GOOG) to drop the Motorola Mobility patent lawsuit from 2010.

But, there was just one little problem—apparently, there never were any talks, as a joint filing in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, and Judge Lucy Koh indicated. The two companies talked about talking, but never actually talked.

On May 2, the jury in Judge Koh’s court awarded Apple a tepid $120 million for Samsung’s patent violations and granted Samsung $158,000 for its countersuit. The two companies subsequently agreed three days later to try to find common ground to settle their future differences out of court.

At that time, when the court asked both Apple and Samsung if they were willing to settle, Samsung’s lawyer reportedly said the Korean company is “always willing to participate if there is an interest in doing so,” the filing said. Apple, in turn, said it also would engage in follow-on discussions.

But that’s as far as it went. As the story goes, Apple’s attorneys got mad about some things Samsung’s counsel said following the verdict and took it to mean the Korean manufacturer had no real interest in settling. John Quinn, Samsung’s lead attorney, in speaking on the record after the jury’s award, reportedly said, “They’re not going to see any of this money—this won’t stand,” and, “Apple hasn’t collected a penny—or succeeded in taking any products off the market.”

In the filing, Apple said that “despite protestations to the contrary, Samsung has adopted a business model that prohibits early or even timely resolution of any dispute involving intellectual property infringement.”

Samsung countered by saying that Quinn’s comments had “little, if anything” to do with the company’s willingness to find a settlement.

In 2012, a jury awarded Apple more than $1.05 billion in damages for Samsung’s patent infringements, which later was reduced to $930 million.