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Appeared on: Saturday, May 17, 2014
Apple, Google Drop Legals Charges In Smartphone Patent War

Apple and Google, the companies behind the top two smartphone platforms in the world, called a truce Friday in a long-running patent war.

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

"Apple and Google have also agreed to work together in some areas of patent reform."

The companies clarified that they would not license their technology to each other.

Motorola filed a patent lawsuit against Apple in US federal court four years ago, prompting the iPhone maker to fire back with a patent suit of its own.

Litigation has spread to more than a dozen other courts.

Google bought Motorola Mobility in 2012.

Early this year, Google agreed to sell Motorola Mobility to China-based computer giant Lenovo. The sale has yet to be completed.

Apple has been battling smartphone competitors including Samsung in courts around the world, accusing rivals using Google's Android software of copying features from its popular mobile devices.

The legal truce between Apple and Google does not take the pressure off South Korea-based Samsung, which has been a prime legal target for the maker of iPhones and iPads.

Early this month in Silicon Valley, jurors at a different patent trial held the line on its $119.6 million damages award to Apple in a patent battle with Samsung.

In August 2012, a separate jury in the same court decided that Samsung should pay Apple $1.049 billion in damages for illegally copying iPhone and iPad features, in one of the biggest patent cases in decades.

The damage award was later trimmed to $929 million and is being appealed.

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