HTC Scoffs at Talk of $6-8 Per Phone Apple Patent Deal

HTC this week denied that it will pay Apple $6-8 per phone as part of a recent patent settlement.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, HTC chief Peter Chou said the speculation about his company's deal with Apple is "outrageous," according to Reuters.

Chou declined to provide details on the deal with Apple, except to say that HTC has "a very, very happy settlement and a good ending."

Earlier this month, Apple and HTC revealed that they and agreed to a 10-year licensing deal, but details about the agreement were not revealed.

An analyst suggested, however, that on the arrangement, or about $180 million - $280 million in annual revenue given the fact that there will likely be 30-35 million HTC Android devices shipped in 2013.

"I think that these estimates are baseless and very, very wrong. It is a outrageous number," Chou told Reuters.

The patent war between Apple and HTC started in March 2010. At the time, for 20 instances of patent infringement, all dealing with various elements of the iPhone. "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," Steve Jobs, then Apple's chief executive, said at the time. "We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."