HTC: Our Apple Patent Deal is Better than You Think

HTC CEO Peter Chou said he's happy with the patent infringement settlement his company reached with Apple, and called speculation as to how much he's paying for Android device licensing fees "outrageous."

HTC says its licensing deal with Apple is better than analysts thinkHTC says its licensing deal with Apple is better than analysts think

Apple and HTC settled their ongoing mobile device patent infringement lawsuit earlier this month with a ten-year cross-licensing deal. Other terms of the settlement were withheld, but Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said his insider sources put the fee between US$6 and $8 per device.

The two companies have been locked in a legal battle over cross accusations of patent infringement. Apple claimed HTC's Android-based smartphones infringed on its data detection patents, and even won an injunction blocking the sale of some HTC devices in the U.S. for infringing on data transmission patents and patents covering interacting with computer data.

Mr. Chou hasn't offered up any more details about the settlement but his company's fourth fiscal quarter guidance didn't change after the deal was announced, hinting that either the fees Apple will receive aren't as steep as estimates suggest, or payments aren't starting until HTC's first fiscal quarter.

The settlement ends Apple's fight with HTC, but its patent infringement battle with Samsung carries on. Apple has targeted Samsung's Android-based smartphones and tablets with patent infringement lawsuits in several countries, and Samsung has filed its own cased against the iPhone and iPad.

Samsung executives said they won't settle their patent fight with Apple, and for now that seems to be the case. Following a U.S. Federal Court loss that gave Apple a US$1 billion award for damages, Samsung and Apple both added more devices to a second U.S. patent infringement suit.

HTC, however, seems to be free to move forward with its Android-based devices while Samsung continues to fight with Apple in court -- which looks to be Samsung's new business as usual.

[Thanks to International Business Times for the heads up]