Apple, Samsung CEOs decide to play nice and talk their way to a settlement

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon will attend a mediation session to discuss their seemingly never-ending legal battles.

The mediation session would be held on or before Feb. 19 to give the CEOs yet another chance to hash things. Should proceedings flounder, the companies are set to return to court in March. The court didn’t mandate this session: Reuters reports that legal teams representing both companies met on Monday to “discuss settlement opportunities.”

The two companies have been embroiled in an ongoing spat over smartphone patents since 2011 and have gone to trial twice. Apple has alleged that Samsung infringed on several patents related to the design of Apple devices, and the functionality of its operating system. While the case has at times proven a bit entertaining, chock full of lengthy legal proceedings and sordid details, it’s all arguably gone on long enough.

Alas, this  isn’t the first time the two CEOs have attempted to broker some semblance of a peace treaty. In August 2012, a mediation session ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh failed to reach a resolution, ultimately leading to roughly $1 billion in damages awarded to Apple.