Google and Samsung have sealed a global patent cross-licensing agreement, as the two technology giants look to work closer together in rivalry with the likes of Apple and Microsoft.
The deal is aimed at reducing “the potential for litigation” and enhancing innovation.
The deal will cover “a broad range of technologies and business areas” and apply to both existing patents and any filed over the next decade.
Both companies already work together closely, with Samsung using Google’s Android mobile operating system.
Samsung called the deal “highly significant for the technology industry” and said it reduces the likelihood of Google and Samsung facing each other in court over intellectual property disputes.
The move is also expected to strengthen their position against rivals such as Apple, which has filed multiple lawsuits worth billions of dollars for alleged patent infringements.
“Samsung and Google are showing the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from co-operating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes,” Seungho Ahn, head of Samsung’s Intellectual Property Center said in the statement.
The move follows a series of high-profile court battles between Appole and Samsung over mobile technology patent issues.
Another high-profile case involves the Rockstar consortium – which includes Apple, Microsoft and Sony. It sued Google and six other smartphone makers that use the Android operating system.
Eight lawsuits were filed in the US over patents relating to Google’s mobile technologies and user-interface design.
Google is also engaged in a dispute with Apple through its Motorola Mobility unit, which owns a large patent collection.