It looks like Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook isn’t all that into thermonuclear war. Unlike Steve Jobs, who famously declared he’d wage all-out war against Google’s Android operating system in the courts, Cook was known to be less fond of litigation, calling Apple’s smartphone and tablet battles a “pain in the ass.”
The pain subsided ever so slightly on Sunday, when Apple and HTC announced the settlement of their long-running dispute over smartphone patents. In a joint-statement, the two sides announced that they’d settled all outstanding litigation in federal court and the U.S. International Trade Commission and entered into a 10-year licensing agreement. Both Cook and HTC CEO Peter Chou said the deal would allow them to put their energy into innovation rather than litigation.
