Samsung Elctronics has announced today that they have signed a global patent cross-license agreement with Google, covering a broad range of technologies and business areas. This will help both the companies which are frequently involved in patent infringement lawsuits but not against each other. The majority of the lawsuits has been between Apple and Samsung ,which is making smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system.
This agreement will cover the two companies’s existing patents as well as those filed over the next 10 years. Samsung has not revealed the financial details of this agreement.
“We’re pleased to enter into a cross-license with our partner Samsung,” said Allen Lo, Deputy General Counsel for Patents at Google. “By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation.”
This agreement is of mutual benefit and will enable Samsung and Google to get access to each other’s industry-leading patent portfolios, paving the way for deeper collaboration on research and development of current and future products and technologies.
“This agreement with Google is highly significant for the technology industry,” said Dr. Seungho Ahn, the Head of Samsung’s Intellectual Property Center. “Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes.”
