Long, protracted legal battles are something that no company relishes, and can often end up causing as much harm as the harm they’re meant to remedy for the plaintiff. Companies of course have to take the necessary steps to protect their intellectual property, but any business would just as soon not have to go to court, even if it is in defense of their IP. Even in instances of companies with devoted legal teams and the resources to afford an extended court case, there’s no situation in which anyone would invite the headache involved.
In that spirit, Samsung and Huawei are almost certainly glad to have settled their series of escalating legal battles spanning multiple lawsuits. The companies had been firing volley back and forth for years over contested patents related to smartphone technologies but appear to have come to a settlement that would allow for the licensing of technology between the two giants.
As The Verge reports, the settlement comes amidst challenges for both companies. Samsung had suffered recent defeats in the latest spate of cases and also finds itself in the midst of a larger decline in phone sales. While Huawei has thus far avoided that slip, they find themselves in a different sort of trouble, as the company has found itself at the center of both a trade war and a geopolitical drama involving fraud and potential spies.
Stepping back from the complexities of the case, the resolution of the legal dispute also helps both companies as they and the smartphone industry as a whole prepare for the introduction of 5G, allowing each to get their respective houses in order to ensure a rollout that keeps pace with the industry.
More broadly, a never-ending legal battle in which neither side concedes a point doesn’t do much for the company, its employees and investors, and consumers. While a legal battle likely hasn’t deterred many customers, if any, every dollar spent on legal fees of hour spent contemplating next steps in the battle is time and money not spent in R&D or marketing or anything that might serve to further the company and the product, and in a marketplace as competitive as smartphones, every bit of both are needed to keep pace.
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