Pair must settle differences.(News)

Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller are understood to be coming under pressure from their partner media groups to reach an out-of-court settlement over their much-publicised differences.

The pair were locked in a complex series of horse-trading meetings over the weekend as Fuller, Cowell and their respective legal teams tried to find a way out of a lengthy, costly and potentially embarrassing High Court case.

After a series of false starts--the case was due to begin last Monday--Mr Justice Blackburne adjourned the proceedings for the fourth time last Thursday.

As the barristers slipped off their wigs and gowns again, it seemed inevitable that the two Simons were looking for a negotiated settlement.

But they had a lot of talking to get through on a case that, behind tabloid headlines such as "X Factor Rip Off", is a hugely complicated one, involving global players such as the US'S Fox Broadcasting, Sony BMG, Robert Sillerman's CKX group and Europe's largest TV and radio operator RTL. The case could also determine the future global aspirations of Pop Idol.

At first glance, Fuller's accusation that Cowell infringed his Pop Idol copyright by launching X Factor appears to be the backbone of the case. However, lurking behind the simple 19 TV versus Simco and Syco (Cowell's two production companies) legal tussle are key issues such as the future of American Idol and whether the Pop Idol TV format can be successfully rolled out in other countries. And these are the battles that involve the big media guns.

Fox Broadcasting, which has screened five successful series of the programme in ...