Apple And Google Patent Spats End With Settlement

The long and varied saga of patent litigation betwixt Apple and Google has drawn to an amicable, if not somewhat anti-climatic, ending. In a joint statement released today, both companies have announced plans to settle all patent-related lawsuits.

All legal issues between the companies related to smartphone patents will be settled without any cross-licensing of patents being included in the settlement. Some type of patent reform will take place, however, with the companies agreeing to "work together in some areas" of the issue.

Under the settlement agreement, both Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility unit have notified the applicable appeals court to dismiss the legal cases. What isn't clear is whether the Apple and Samsung legal squabbles will continue, with Reuters pointing out that nothing related to those lawsuits has been dismissed.

Most notably, the legal issues ramped up when Motorola Mobility slapped Apple with a lawsuit over patent infringement back in late 2010, something for which Apple returned similar litigation that has continued until this day.

SOURCE: Reuters