In an unexpected move, Apple and Samsung have agreed to settle their seven-year-old patent infringement lawsuit. Terms of the settlement are not yet available.

“They have agreed to drop [the lawsuits] and settle their remaining claims and counterclaims in this matter,” District Court Judge Lucy Koh announced today.

Neither Apple nor Samsung has commented on this new development. But Apple has pointed the press to its previous statement, from May, which suggests that it will be on the receiving end of some payment from Samsung.

“We believe deeply in the value of design, and our teams work tirelessly to create innovative products that delight our customers,” the Apple statement noted. “This case has always been about more than money. Apple ignited the smartphone revolution with iPhone and it is a fact that Samsung blatantly copied our design. It is important that we continue to protect the hard work and innovation of so many people at Apple.”

The Apple/Samsung patent infringement lawsuit is famous mostly because it actually went to trial, giving onlookers the rare chance to see the indsutry’s two biggest companies go toe-to-toe. That said, Apple pretty much won handily at every phase, since, you know, Samsung really did copy its product designs.

In the most recent stage of the case, Samsung was ordered by a federal jury to pay Apple $539 million in damages.

Tagged with Samsung