The chiefs of Samsung Electronics Co and Apple Inc have agreed to meet to discuss a possible settlement before a trial opens in March in their long legal battle over patents.
A filing with a California court showed that chief executives Tim Cook and Oh-Hyun Kwon have agreed to mediation with the presence of top executive lawyers on or before February 19.
The meeting will take place before a court case opens in March in California.
The two companies have since 2011 filed some 50 legal suits against each other in around a dozen countries as they compete for dominance in the electronics market. The cases are related to alleged infringements of smartphone and tablet patents.
US courts have already awarded Apple around $1 billion.