Apple wanted Samsung to license patents for $30 per smartphone, $40 per tablet

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  • Reply 21 of 68

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by macarena View Post


    This offer could come back to bite Apple.


     


    Firstly, offering 20% discount for cross licensing Samsung's patents means that the value of Samsung's patents is set at approximately $6 to $8 per device - a lot higher than the numbers Apple is offering now.


     


    Secondly, it looks like these numbers could be looked at as being way too high - remember, Samsung prices its devices about 15-20% cheaper than Apple - so a $30 fee could be as high as 7-8% of the device cost.


     


    Thirdly, though Apple's patents are non-SEP, these prices make it look like Motorola's 2.25% for SEP patents are not ALL THAT EXCESSIVE. They are excessive, but not as excessive as they looked at first glance.


     


    Most importantly, I believe it is these prices that make Samsung believe that it has lesser exposure at a legal trial - a jury is unlikely to cost them much more than agreeing to Apple's rates. Even though the numbers for 2010 look low at just $250 million, the numbers for today will be a lot higher - at 50 million phones a year, the cost for Samsung would be $1.5 Billion for just the last 12 months! Apple is just asking for $2.5 Billion today, which means Samsung is not exposed to much risk. I think even if ALL of Samsung's profits from mobiles and tablets are disgorged, it would be less than $30 per device - remember, not all manufacturers have the kind of profit margins Apple has! Samsung is probably making only 10% margins on its devices.


     


    Of course, if they get hit with treble damages for wilful infringement, then the math could be totally different for Samsung. I think Samsung would be smarter to just pay Apple $2.5 Billion today, and get back about $0.5 Billion in their own licensing. At a net cost of $2 Billion, it is quite cheap for Samsung on a per device basis.



    If Samsung loses the suit and pays the $2.5Billion, it must still stop infringing the patents or take a license. There will be a continuing cost for Samsung going forward, either in loss of revenue from reduced functionality of their products, or license fees.

  • Reply 22 of 68
    xrcxxrcx Posts: 117member


    Apple to Samsung: We tried to offer you a fair deal where we could both benefit but you are forcing us into litigation!


    Samsung to Apple: PSHH bring it on we have amazing trial lawyers, see you in court!


    Samsung's Legal Rep: No lets hear what they have to say *nervous laugh*


    Samsung to Apple: We have heard enough!, we will destroy you in court!


    Samsung's Legal Rep: *sweating nervously* can I umm speak to you in private....


    Samsung to Apple: our Legal team will crush you!


    Apple to Samsung: our legal team is pretty good too.


    Samsung's Legal Rep: *chokes on his water while uncontrollably urinating* I need to go!


    Samsung to Apple: See how eager he is! you stand no chance!

  • Reply 23 of 68
    xrcxxrcx Posts: 117member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bsimpsen View Post


    If Samsung loses the suit and pays the $2.5Billion, it must still stop infringing the patents or take a license. There will be a continuing cost for Samsung going forward, either in loss of revenue from reduced functionality of their products, or license fees.



    and from the damage to their reputation, no one likes a cheater

  • Reply 24 of 68
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by xRCx View Post


    and from the damage to their reputation, no one likes a cheater



     


    All the bandwagon jumpers, probably made up of ex-Nokia Fanboys who used to frequent sites, usually outside the US, seem to adore Samsung's cheating heart, like parasites who latch on to any substitute once their host has died.


     


    Secure in their sheeplike flock, they seem to delight in throwing their weight around.

  • Reply 25 of 68
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,384member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


     


    All the bandwagon jumpers, probably made up of ex-Nokia Fanboys who used to frequent sites, usually outside the US, seem to adore Samsung's cheating heart, like parasites who latch on to any substitute once their host has died.


     


    Secure in their sheeplike flock, they seem to delight in throwing their weight around.



     


    That, and the 'anyone but Apple' brigade, who will bash, trash, and mock any new Apple product, then when the competition realizes what the hell is happening and starts producing some shittily built and thought-out knowckoff, they'll run to champion that device as the best thing ever, and being so superior to Apple product X, pretending they never trashed the entire concept in the 1st place. 

  • Reply 26 of 68
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    slurpy wrote: »
    That, and the 'anyone but Apple' brigade, who will bash, trash, and mock any new Apple product, then when the competition realizes what the hell is happening and starts producing some shittily built and thought-out knowckoff, they'll run to champion that device as the best thing ever, and being so superior to Apple product X, pretending they never trashed the entire concept in the 1st place. 

    Don't forget they change their argument about new features as being stupid and pointless to being obvious and self-evident.
  • Reply 27 of 68
    djsherlydjsherly Posts: 1,031member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    It's not 30% it's $30. It's fair across the board. There is no scale based on the retail price, just a Non-Disrimatory cost for using certain patents. I won't say Fair or Reasonable because I don't think there is enough to know if Apple ever expected the vendors to take it or if it was just a starting point for what would be a lengthy legal battle.


    I don't think you need to say fair or reasonable at all. It would seem to me the Apple patents aren't essential to meet standards. Between Apple and Samsung in this case, it would be purely a commercial matter.

  • Reply 28 of 68
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member


    It's interesting to see that Apple did offer licensing terms, rather than flat out refusing to license their technology. I don't think that ever been reported before.


     


    Two things stand out though:


     


    1) $30 per unit is an extremely high figure for a set of patent licenses. It could be argued that Apple intentionally set the bar so high to deter other companies from agreeing to the deal.


     


    2) Wasn't one of the points raised in the Apple vs. Nokia case that Nokia wanted a cross-licensing deal and Apple refused? That's how it was reported on AI. 

  • Reply 29 of 68
    realisticrealistic Posts: 1,154member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Pendergast View Post



    Can we get a prediction of how many posts there are going to be in this thread about how it is hypocritical for Apple to bemoan a 2.25% licensing fee when they're asking for 30%, all the while completely missing the difference between standards-essential patents and regular patents? Any guess?




    Not many, because if you re-read the article, a little slower this time, it says "According to court documents made public on Friday, Apple in 2010 offered Samsung a $30 per smartphone/$40 per tablet license deal for use of the Cupertino company's patents. etc..." Apple wasn't asking for 30% of the retail price.

  • Reply 30 of 68
    hattighattig Posts: 860member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Lord Amhran View Post



    Why licence when you can steal?


     


    $30 to license "the rectangle with curved corners". No wonder Samsung turned it down.

  • Reply 31 of 68
    Why licence when you can steal?

    I wonder if Samsung can claim insanity to avoid penalties.
  • Reply 32 of 68
    bullheadbullhead Posts: 493member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by xRCx View Post


    and from the damage to their reputation, no one likes a cheater



     


    The masses are too stupid to remember anything past the current day.  They will be onto the next "crisis" spoon fed them by the corporate news/government propaganda machine and lap it up like a dog licking ice cream off the floor.  Unfortunately, outside a few free thinking people with a mental capacity beyond a lab rat, the masses will continue buying the cloner Samesung/HTC/Nokia/<insert generic cloner company> rip offs

  • Reply 33 of 68
    pendergastpendergast Posts: 1,358member
    realistic wrote: »

    Not many, because if you re-read the article, a little slower this time, it says "According to court documents made public on Friday, Apple in 2010 offered Samsung a $30 per smartphone/$40 per tablet license deal for use of the Cupertino company's patents. etc..." Apple wasn't asking for 30% of the retail price.

    Typo.
  • Reply 34 of 68
    pendergastpendergast Posts: 1,358member
    hill60 wrote: »
    All the bandwagon jumpers, probably made up of ex-Nokia Fanboys who used to frequent sites, usually outside the US, seem to adore Samsung's cheating heart, like parasites who latch on to any substitute once their host has died.

    Secure in their sheeplike flock, they seem to delight in throwing their weight around.

    I also get the impression that many MS "fanboys" have embraced Android in general as a surrogate while MS attempts to gain traction in the mobile space, probably so they can continue hating Apple. These are the people who claim the Win8 tablets will destroy the iPad.

    Actually, since Apple has destroyed so many once-huge platforms, there are many "refugees" who have embraced Android: Nokia, Blackberry, MS...
  • Reply 35 of 68
    pendergastpendergast Posts: 1,358member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    It's not 30% it's $30. It's fair across the board. There is no scale based on the retail price, just a Non-Disrimatory cost for using certain patents. I won't say Fair or Reasonable because I don't think there is enough to know if Apple ever expected the vendors to take it or if it was just a starting point for what would be a lengthy legal battle.

    Thank you for the correction. Pretty sure it was a typo, although I was half asleep whilst posting, so...

    Apple has no obligation to be fair or reasonable regarding proprietary intellectual property that has not been declared essential for an industry standard. I'm guessing Apple would prefer Samsung simply refrain from using their tech, but then again this shows the age old adage true: everything has a price.
  • Reply 36 of 68
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    pendergast wrote: »
    Thank you for the correction. Pretty sure it was a typo, although I was half asleep whilst posting, so...

    Sure, been there. I speed read through most tech articles and forums these days so I certainly miss things, too.

    [/QUOTE]Apple has no obligation to be fair or reasonable regarding proprietary intellectual property that has not been declared essential for an industry standard. I'm guessing Apple would prefer Samsung simply refrain from using their tech, but then again this shows the age old adage true: everything has a price.[/quote]

    Yeah, I didn't mean to imply they would need to be FRAND. I was just breaking down the acronym's to its constituent parts to show that Apple may not have made this offer because they thought the licensing would be fair or reasonable but because they were planning for a court case all along. If anyone planned ahead it's Apple.
  • Reply 37 of 68
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,211member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Sure, been there. I speed read through most tech articles and forums these days so I certainly miss things, too.

    [/QUOTE]Apple has no obligation to be fair or reasonable regarding proprietary intellectual property that has not been declared essential for an industry standard. I'm guessing Apple would prefer Samsung simply refrain from using their tech, but then again this shows the age old adage true: everything has a price.[/quote]

    Yeah, I didn't mean to imply they would need to be FRAND. I was just breaking down the acronym's to its constituent parts to show that Apple may not have made this offer because they thought the licensing would be fair or reasonable but because they were planning for a court case all along. If anyone planned ahead it's Apple.


    Apple is well-aware it has standards-essential IP, but chooses not to license it anyway. That's according to Boris Teksler, Apple's director of patent licensing. 


     


    "According to his testimony, Teksler noted Apple held patents required for standards, core computing and those associated with what has become iOS. Apple is not interested in licensing the patents. . ."

  • Reply 38 of 68
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by Hattig View Post

    $30 to license "the rectangle with curved corners". No wonder Samsung turned it down.


     


    Are you trying to look at it from their perspective, or is this what you actually believe?

  • Reply 39 of 68
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    gatorguy wrote: »
    Apple is well-aware it has standards-essential IP, but chooses not to license it anyway. That's according to Boris Teksler, Apple's director of patent licensing. 

    <span style="color:rgb(24,24,24);font-family:'lucida grande', verdana, helvetica, sans-serif;background-color:rgb(226,225,225);">"According to his testimony, Teksler noted Apple held patents required for standards, core computing and those associated with what has become iOS. Apple is not interested in licensing the patents. . ."</span>

    That's certainly an argument that one could make but I certainly can't make that determination at this time. I do wonder why Samsung, Google et al. haven't been fighting for Apple's patents to be FRAND. Isn't that something that the SSO* determines?

    Let's remember that the iPhone was only announced less than 6 years ago. I have to assume that the SSO might see inventions as having a healthy grace period for the inventor even if it is so revolutionary that it's the only feasible way to proceed moving forward.



    * Or is that FRAND-McNally?
  • Reply 40 of 68

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Hattig View Post


     


    $30 to license "the rectangle with curved corners". No wonder Samsung turned it down.



     


    I know right. It's a good thing no one has filed for a design patent on dim and dull, otherwise you might be found infringing.

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