Google and Samsung sign a patent cross-licensing agreement

Samsung and Google have inked a broad patent cross-licensing agreement that covers current intellectual property as well as whatever is cooked up over the next decade. The companies announced that patent agreement in a blog post. According to Google and Samsung, the patent deal allows the companies to “reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation.” 

 Samsung Electronics Co.  and Google Inc. signed a broad cross-licensing deal on technology patents, strengthening an existing alliance as they try to fend off stiff competition in the market from rivals such as Apple Inc. Samsung and Google, which are closely allied as the primary backers of the dominant Android mobile operating system, declined to disclose financial terms of the deal, which covers the two companies’ existing patents, as well as those filed over the next 10 years. However, the agreement doesn’t transfer ownership of patents and as a consequence won’t allow Samsung to use Google’s patents to defend itself in litigation with other companies such as Apple.