Today, both Apple and Google announced that the companies have agreed to dismiss a patent suit against each other. The lawsuit was filed over claimed patent infringements in the Apple iPhone and smartphones made by Google-owned Motorola Mobility that runs on the Android OS.
Interestingly, however, though the suit was voluntarily dismissed by the two parties, there is no cross-licensing agreement involved. Reuters said that "the companies said the settlement does not include a cross license to their respective patents." However, both companies are committing to work together on patent reform.
In recent years, Apple and a number of smartphone vendors that use Google's Android operating system have been engaged in numerous lawsuits. Most famously, HTC had decided to settle with Apple while rival Samsung's famous court battles have resulted in the Galaxy-maker paying a fine to Apple.
Google had announced that it will be selling off the Motorola Mobility hardware business to Chinese PC-maker Lenovo. The search giant will be retaining Motorola's patent library as part of the deal. That deal is still pending regulatory approval.
Source: Reuters
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