In a landmark agreement, Samsung and Google have extended their ongoing cooperative partnership with the announcement of a global patent cross-license agreement covering a wide array of technologies. The deal will benefit both Samsung and Google by allowing the companies to share existing patent portfolios and anything new filed over the next 10 years, while providing better defense against competitor patent infringement allegations from companies like Apple.
“We’re pleased to enter into a cross-license with our partner Samsung,” Allen Lo said, the 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 should have tech enthusiasts celebrating as the path to more meaningful collaboration between Samsung and Google products has been paved. You only need to pull out your Samsung Galaxy device running Google’s Android operating system to start thinking about the new possibilities. Also, the prospects of not having to hear about any more unnecessary and innovation-stifling patent litigation should be a wake up call for other major tech companies to also look towards collaboration over litigation.
“This agreement with Google is highly significant for the technology industry. Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes,” said Dr. Seungho Ahn who is the Head of Samsung’s Intellectual Property Center.
