Late Saturday the two companies stated that the agreement covers current and future patents for both firms. More specific terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation," Peter Chou, HTC's chief executive, said in a statement.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, also expressed relief in a statement. "We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation," he said.

The broad patent deal comes after HTC suffered several legal setbacks, such as a decision in the U.S. International Trade Commission that said Apple's iPhone and iPad mobile devices had not infringed HTC's patents.

A Taipei-based analyst at the research firm Gartner was quoted by the Taiwan Focus this morning as stating that "The settlement would give HTC a greater advantage in its market positioning in the U.S." The analyst added that "HTC still values the U.S. market. The case implies that although HTC has been performing well in China, it could not make up what it had lost in the U.S. market."

The report added that "HTC's branding is likely to improve with the settlement because consumers may no longer consider HTC as a 'copy brand' as a result of its loss of consecutive patent lawsuits against Apple over the past two years."

The settlement with HTC ends Apple's bad run of legal news that has been in the press over the last few months. Some of the cases are shown below: 

September 25: Apple loses patent case against Samsung, Motorola in Germany

October 18: Apple loses appeal in UK case against Samsung

October 21: Apple loses copyright case in UK

October 24: Apple Loses Dutch Patent Case against Samsung on Touch Screen

November 01: The court has ordered Apple to "change the wording of the statement

November 02: Apple loses iPhone Branding case in Mexico

November 07: Apple Loses FaceTime Patent Lawsuit to VirnetX

NOTICE: Patently Apple presents only a brief summary of certain legal cases/ lawsuits which are part of the public record for journalistic news purposes. Readers are cautioned that Patently Apple does not offer an opinion on the merit of the case and strictly presents the allegations made in said legal cases / lawsuits. A lawyer should be consulted for any further details or analysis. About Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments. On most legal cases, comments will be closed. See our Legal Archives for other patent infringement cases.