Samsung and Google, have entered into a global patent cross-licensing agreement that will not only cover existing patents owned by the companies, but also patents to be filed in the next 10 years.
Financial terms of the deal are yet to be disclosed by either side. The deal “would lead to deeper collaboration on research and development of current and future projects”, said the companies.
Google and Samsung are already in collaboration with each other on smartphones, tablets and televisions and this new cross-licensing agreement will reduce the risk of costly intellectual property related legal disputes between the tech giants.
Litigation is often used by tech companies to restrict rivals from using their patents without permission; however, many of the patent disputes end up in the form of cross-licensing agreements outside court.
Presently, Samsung is in legal dispute with Apple. CEOs of both Samsung and Apple are likely to meet over a meeting next month to try reaching a settlement as per US court’s request.
Deputy General Counsel for patents at Google, Allen Lo, in a statement, said that “By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation.”
“The rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes”, said Seungho Ahn, Samsung’s intellectual property center head.
