Apple and Google have agreed to drop all current patent lawsuits against one another. The lawsuits involved Google's Motorola unit, which is now being sold to Lenovo.
“Apple and Google have agreed to dismiss all the current lawsuits that exist directly between the two companies,” the companies said in a joint statement. “Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform. The agreement does not include a cross license.”
Motorola sued Apple for patent infringement in 2010, after which Apple countersued. Google inherited the suits when it purchased Motorola in 2012. Until today, the companies were battling it out in about 20 lawsuits in the U.S. and Germany.
An Apple spokeswoman told the WSJ that the deal doesn't affect the company's patent litigation against Samsung. While Google is frequently mentioned in those cases, it's not formally a party to them.
It's thought that Google may have been motivated to settle after regulators criticized Motorola for pursuing injunctions against Apple based on patents it was required to license out. Apple may have lost incentive to fight due to the sale of Motorola to Lenovo.
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