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Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility settle long-running patent lawsuit

Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility settle long-running patent lawsuit

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After years of duking it out in courts around the world, Apple and Google's Motorola Mobility group settled their long-running lawsuit today. In a filing, which was first spotted by Reuters, the two companies said they planned to dismiss all lawsuits against one another. However the pair did not agree to any cross-licensing patent agreement that would have signaled a larger peace between the two companies.

The spat between Apple and Motorola centered on smartphone patents, and dated back to 2010. One case involved Apple suing Motorola Mobility over infringing its patents, while a separate case involved Motorola accusing Apple of infringing on three of its patents. After being combined, the case was dismissed before it went to trial two years ago, but was revived last month as part of a Federal Appeals Court decision. There were also complaints with the US International Trade Commission, as well as in Germany where actual sales bans were put in place.

All told, there were around 20 ongoing legal matters between the two companies worldwide, with most of those in Germany and the US, a person familiar with cases tells The Verge.

Apple and Google will work on patent reform

"Apple and Google have agreed to dismiss all the current lawsuits that exist directly between the two companies," the two companies said 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 battle was one of several involving Apple and other Android smartphone makers. While not as high-profile as the one between Apple and Samsung, it was quickly elevated after Google announced plans to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2011. For once, that meant that Apple and Google were effectively going head to head in court over smartphone patents, something that hadn't happened yet. Then things got complicated earlier this year when Google announced plans to sell Motorola to Lenovo at a fire sale price of $2.91 billion.