Although in recent years it has been repeatedly said that Samsung try to break ties with Google and to give up Android to focus on developing a proprietary operating system called Tizen, the reality is completely different. During the day yesterday Google si Samsung announced ending a complex cooperation agreement and mutual licensing of invention patents, this agreement giving both companies the opportunity to protect themselves much more effectively against lawsuits filed by Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, but at the same time giving them access to new technologies.
The agreement will allow those from Samsung to use the companies' patents Motorola si Google in the lawsuits filed against Apple, but to use the technologies protected by them for the development of new smartphones and tablets, Google having the same option. In this vision of the future, Motorola remains a company without any future in the context in which Google will cooperate much more closely with Samsung, the agreement including the launch of Samsung smartphones with stock versions of Android, the Koreans giving up on their own initiative the development of Tizen.
The even more interesting part of the agreement is that it prohibits the offering of Android to certain companies, Microsoft being one of them, so that Nokia smartphone with Android OS will never be released on the market. Although it is not known how much or if money was paid for the conclusion of this agreement, we know for sure that Android will become much stronger after its conclusion and Apple faces much stronger competitors than in the past.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Google Inc. today furthered their long-term cooperative partnership with a global patent cross-license agreement covering a broad range of technologies and business areas. The mutually beneficial agreement covers the two companies' existing patents as well as those filed over the next 10 years.
"We're pleased to enter into a cross-license with our partner Samsung," said Allen Lo, Deputy General Counsel for Patents at Google. "By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation."
With this agreement, Samsung and Google gain access to each other's industry-leading patent portfolios, paving the way for deeper collaboration on research and development of current and future products and technologies.
"This agreement with Google is highly significant for the technology industry," said Dr. Seungho Ahn, the Head of Samsung's Intellectual Property Center. "Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes."
