Currently, Samsung and Apple are involved in multiple court conflicts over handset technology. Both Google
and Samsung have contracted a universal patent cross-licensing
agreement geared towards limiting “the potential for litigation” and
improving modernisation.
This deal will cover “a broad range of technologies and business
areas” which will apply to not only already existing patents but any
filed over the next ten years as well. Samsung and Google already have a
close-knit relationship, as
Samsung uses Google’s operating system, Android, for its mobile devices.
Samsung has said that the deal is “highly significant for the
technology industry” and has also announced that this deal significantly
reduces the possibility that Google and Samsung will have to face each
in court regarding intellectual property rights. It will also fortify
their position against opponents, such as Apple, who has filed numerous
proceedings worth billions of dollars for suspected patent violations.
“Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there
is more to gain from co-operating than engaging in unnecessary patent
disputes,” stated head of Samsung’s Intellectual Property Centre,
Seungho Ahn.
Samsung is the largest smartphone creator and faces lawsuits from
large global companies, like Apple in the US, as well as countries, like
South Korea, over mobile technology patents. Apple asserts that
Samsung has taken liberties with their best-selling Galaxy smartphones
and copied the design from the iPhone. This patent dispute has
continued on for a few years now and both chief executives of Apple and
Samsung are planning to meet for conciliation in February.
Another high-profile case involving patent disputes is the Rockstar
consortium – which includes Apple, Microsoft and Sony. They have sued
Google as well as six other smartphone manufacturers that use the
Android OS. Eight lawsuits were filed in the US involving Google’s
mobile technologies and user-interface design. Google’s Moterola
Mobility Unit, which owns a big patent collection, is also involved in a
disagreement with Apple. In order to counter this, technology Goliaths
have looked to raise their patent numbers, as well as sign contracts
like the one announced by Google and Samsung.
Analysts say that these moves enforce strength by numbers. “The more
patents you have the more protected you are from litigation,” says
analyst Andrew Milroy who consults at
Frost & Sullivan,
“I’m not sure if the agreement means Samsung can use Google patents and
vice-versa. But if they are collaborating it protects them from
litigation, since the pair of them together is a stronger unit.”