Google and Samsung to work together in attempt to reach cross-licensing deal with Apple
Apple’s latest round of favorable decisions in a series of lawsuits stemming from allegations of patent infringement hit close to home in more ways than one. Not only did a court decide to ban sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US, but a verdict also put a preliminary injunction on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, a handset that was co-developed with Google and is viewed as the flagship device of the company’s most recent Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean updates.
At its essence, a ruling against the Galaxy Nexus is an indictment of the Android operating system itself, and Apple will surely want to leverage this in future legal battles. Now Google is looking to take a more active role in settling the dispute, joining forces with Samsung to hopefully reach a cross-licesncing deal with Apple. The deal would look to provide monetary compensation to all parties involved for the use of various elements of intellectual property across Google’s Android, Samsung’s hardware, and Apple’s iOS devices. Obviously, a cross-licenscing deal would be more beneficial to Google and Samsung than simply paying Apple a fee to make sure sales of the devices like the Galaxy Nexus are not halted.
Speaking to The Korea Times, a source within Samsung said, “It’s too early to comment on our game plan (with Google) in the legal battle; but we will do our best to get more royalties from Apple, which has benefited from our technology. The fight is becoming more dramatic and the possibility of a truce in the form of a cross-licensing deal, seems to be becoming likely.”
And such a deal could not come soon enough. The endless patent trolling occurring in the mobile sector seems to have taken center stage over what used to be innovation and healthy competition. We’re not out of the woods yet, but if the time to reach a deal is now, let’s hope those squabbling over slide-to-unlock patents and tablet aesthetics can shake hands and put this chapter behind us.
[via 9to5Mac]