Microsoft and Google broke out the peace pipe this week, agreeing to settle 18 patent-related battles that were underway in the U.S. and Germany that involved technologies for WiFi, smartphones, Microsoft’s Xbox console platform and several Windows-powered products.
"Microsoft and Google are pleased to announce an agreement on patent issues” they said in a joint statement. “ 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."
The settlement, Reuters reported, also drops all litigation tied to Motorola Mobility, the smartphone division that Google sold to Lenovo Group last year, though Google held onto the bulk of the patents that it originally obtained in its original $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2012. Google sold Motorola Home, the set-top and broadband technology unit, to Arris in 2013 for $2.35 billion.
The agreement announced today doesn’t preclude any future infringement suits, Reuters added.
