Samsung and Google Announce Licensing Agreement

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Samsung has announced that it has entered into a cooperative partnership with Google to globally cross-license patents. The agreement covers existing and future patents over the next 10 years.

Neither company is saying about what the partnership means in the announcement, however the mention about the future potential of the partnership in relation to reducing future litigation within the industry strikes to past litigation about patent infringements between Apple and Samsung.

Here is the full (and brief) announcement:

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Google Inc. today furthered their long-term cooperative partnership with a global patent cross-license agreement covering a broad range of technologies and business areas. The mutually beneficial agreement covers the two companies’ existing patents as well as those filed over the next 10 years.

“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.”

With this agreement, Samsung and Google gain 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.”