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Finally, Google and Apple drop their lawsuits . . . now it's over to Samsung

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By Noel Young, Correspondent

May 17, 2014 | 3 min read

Finally, it’s over! Apple and Google have declared a cease-fire in their intellectual-property wars.

Now they are cooperating!

The two technology giants are dropping lawsuits against one another and will work together to reform patent law.

It all started when Apple co-founder Steve Jobs declared a “thermonuclear war” on Google after it introduced its Android software in 2008. All that exploded, however, was the two companies' legal bills.

The suits being dismissed involve patent disputes regarding Google’s Motorola Mobility handset unit. But the deal doesn’t include Apple’s patent battles with Samsung which uses Google’s Android software for mobile devices.

“This could signal a new strategy on Apple’s part to focus its litigation efforts even more squarely on Samsung, which is by far the largest Android phone manufacturer,” Brian Love, a Santa Clara University School of Law professor told Bloomberg.

Google and Apple have filed about 20 lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and Europe and compete fiercely on many technology fronts. Apple’s iOS software and Google’s Android power the majority of the world’s smartphones and tablets and both are seeking to keep their pre-eminent positions in those growing markets.

“Apple and Google have agreed to dismiss all the current lawsuits that exist directly between the two companies,” they said yesterday in a joint statement.

“Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform. The agreement does not include a cross license.”

The companies were spending tens of millions of dollars in legal fees over an “ever-shrinking list of possible rewards,” said Bloomberg. In one case, Apple told a court that it had spent $32 million in legal fees, midway through proceedings.

Michael Risch, a law professor at Villanova University, said of the joint statement. “Motorola isn’t as big a competitor anymore. The cooperation shows Apple isn’t as concerned about the company.”

But he added, “When they decide to drop everything with Samsung, then we’ll be talking,”

Google inherited the cases when it bought Motorola Mobility to obtain about 17,000 patents and applications. After almost three years of litigation, Google and Apple have little to show but legal bills.

The companies can now cooperate on one thing they agree on: curbing lawsuits against them by patent-licensing firms.

A Samsung spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a Bloomberg e-mail after regular business hours yesterday seeking comment on the announcement.

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