Apple and Samsung, two tech giants who have been battling in courts worldwide, are in for a new challenge. The CEOs of both companies, i.e. Apple's Tim Cook and Samsung's Choi Gee-sung, have been instructed by a federal judge to participate in a court-supervised mediation. "As directed by the Court, Apple and Samsung are both willing to participate" in the discussions, reads a joint court filing in April, according to Reuters.

Tim Cook and Choi Gee-sung are scheduled to meet in San Francisco for two days of negotiation regarding claims and counterclaims made in lawsuits filed in the U.S. In the ongoing legal battles, each company accused the other of infringing its intellectual property. The mediation meeting was ordered by federal judge Lucy Koh, who is presiding over lawsuits Apple filed against Samsung over patent infringement for the iPad and iPhone.

The mediation sessions involve cases filed in the United States, but there could also be ramifications for the other 47 lawsuits between the two giants in nine other countries. Another high-profile case, Google vs. Oracle, had similar negotiations imposed, however the companies failed to reach a settlement and the case eventually went to trial.

Hope for Settlement

In the case of Apple and Samsung, there may still be hope of mediation. As PC World points out, Apple has made efforts before to work things out with Samsung. Back in 2011, an Apple patent attorney testified in an Australian court that Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs had contacted the Korean company in July 2010, in an effort to settle the company's differences over intellectual property. Furthermore, Apple and Samsung have a very different relationship than Google and Oracle.

"Samsung is one of Apple's biggest suppliers and it's almost necessary for the delivery of iPhones," said Aeon Law attorney Adam L.K. Philipp, as cited by PC World. "So the companies are highly motivated to come to a mutually bearable resolution to this."

On the other hand, Vaughn Walker, a former northern California federal judge who now works as a mediator, has little hope that this meeting would solve their problems. "I can't imagine that the heads of a major enterprise of that kind would take any more seriously a decision of that magnitude, simply because they are in the room together," said Walker, as cited by Reuters. If Apple and Samsung do not reach a settlement, the issue will only escalate and the companies will meet again in trial court in July.