Apple and Google agree to settle all current patent litigation

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After years of being embroiled in a number of lawsuits, on multiple continents, Apple and Google have announced that they have reached a settlement regarding patent litigation.

The two companies have agreed to dismiss all current lawsuits between Apple and Google’s former Motorola Mobility unit, and have even said they’ll work together on patent reform…

Reuters’ Dan Levine has the report:

Apple Inc and Google Inc’s Motorola Mobility unit have agreed to settle all patent litigation between them over smartphone technology, ending one of the highest profile lawsuits in technology. “Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform,” the statement said.

The two companies informed a federal appeals court in Washington that the cases should be dismissed, according to filings on Friday.

It’s worth noting that the deal doesn’t include cross-licensing, so the two firms still can’t use each other’s patents, and it only seems to apply to Apple’s lawsuits with Motorola—not Samsung.

Still, the settlement ends a significant patent battle between two major tech firms that saw sales bans on devices, and expensive litigation across Europe, and here in the United States.

In January this year, Google announced that it was selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.9 billion, although it sounds like the Mountain View company kept most of the patents.