Microsoft and Google have agreed to halt their patent disputes, involving 18 such cases currently in process in courts, in the US and Germany. The disputes were over technologies including mobile phones, Wi-Fi, video compression, messaging and others. Going forward Microsoft and Google have pledged to work together to collaborate on patent matters and for the overall benefit of customers. No financial terms for the settling of the disputes was disclosed. As the BBC reports, this is another sign of the recent shift towards licensing rather than litigation.
The brief joint statement from the tech titans is as follows:
"Microsoft and Google are pleased to announce an agreement on patent issues.
As part of the agreement, the companies will dismiss all pending patent infringement litigation between them, including cases related to Motorola Mobility.
Separately, Google and Microsoft have agreed to collaborate on certain patent matters and anticipate working together in other areas in the future to benefit our customers."
Signs of a thawing of relations between Microsoft and other tech giants have been seen under Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella's leadership. Back in August Nadella Tweeted congratulations to Sundar Pichai after he was named CEO of Google. An analyst speaking to Bloomberg said that "Nadella is changing the image of the company into a lover and not a hater of other technology stalwarts." Other notable Nadella moves since taking the reins include embracing Linux and releasing Microsoft Office on a wide range of competitor OSes.
The companies are already working on the development of a unified patent court for the European Union, and on royalty-free technology for speeding up video on the Internet, reports Reuters. The newly stated resolution to previous court cases doesn't mean Microsoft and Google won't clash again. They have competing OSes, hardware and search engines for example. With the patent squabbles behind them, there's a hope the firms can compete on the quality of their offerings rather than trying to use spoiling tactics.
