Apple, Google agree to end patent wars

Technology and search giants Apple and Google yesterday agreed to withdraw patent lawsuits they had filed against each other, ending one of the bitterest smartphone technology patent litigations between the two Silicon Valley companies.

The two companies signed a landmark agreement to settle all outstanding patent litigation between them, and said in a joint statement that they would work together in "some areas of patent reform" but the settlement does not include a cross license to their respective patents.

''Apple and Google have agreed to dismiss all the current lawsuits that exist directly between the two companies,'' the companies said in the statement. ''Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform.''

Apple and handset makers using Google's Android software have filed a battery of suits and counter-suits against each other around the world.

The two technology leaders informed a federal appeals court in Washington that their cases against each other should be dismissed,

The settlement comes two weeks after a jury in California ordered South Korean giant Samsung to pay Apple $119.6 million for infringing two of its patents, and also ruled that Apple must pay $158,000 in damages for infringing Samsung's patents (See: California jury awards Apple $119 mn in patent suit against Samsung).

Apple's iOS and Google's Android OS are two of the top two mobile operating systems in the world, with Android being installed on around 80 per cent of new smartphones sold every year, including Samsung devices.

Time magazine said in a report "Almost two years ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Larry Page reportedly held clandestine talks about ending the patent dispute between the two companies, but no agreement materialized."

The dispute with Samsung, which uses Google's Android and has been targeted by Apple,is not part of the settlement. It is embroiled in patent lawsuits with the iPhone maker in over 10 countries since the past three years,

Apple delivered a big blow to Android last year when a US jury ruled against Samsung and awarded more than $1 billion in damages, later slashed by 43 per cent by a US federal judge (Apple's $1.05-bn award against Samsung cut to $598 mn). The ruling is being challenged by Samsung.