Google and LG strike 'global patent license agreement' for the next 10 years

Google and LG just sent out a very short press release announcing that they’ve struck a “global patent license agreement” that covers a “broad range of products and technologies.”

While this is certainly an interesting development, it’s rather vague. The press release reads:

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LG Electronics Inc. (LG) and Google Inc. have entered into a long-term patent cross-licensing agreement covering a broad range of products and technologies. The agreement covers the two companies’ existing patents as well as those filed over the next 10 years.

“We’re pleased to enter into this agreement with a leading global technology company like LG,” said Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google. “By working together on cross-licenses like this, companies can focus on bringing great products and services to consumers around the world.”

This agreement builds on the long-standing strong alliance between Google and LG Electronics, the companies said.

“LG values its relationship with Google, and this agreement underscores both companies’ commitment to developing new products and technologies that enhance consumers’ lives,” said J.H. Lee, executive vice president and head of the LG Electronics Intellectual Property Center.

We’ve reached out to both companies, and so far only Google has simply confirmed that the deal is new and not a renewal, but in the meantime, we can speculate as to the reasons for this.

Since LG has been making Android smartphones, an operating system owned by Google, sharing patents could help both companies optimize their respective products. LG is also a maker of Android Wear-equipped smartwatches, another category in which sharing and overlap could be of benefit.

The agreement could also be a signal that Google wants to move into product categories that LG’s been in for a while, especially given the broad scope of patents the agreement covers and that Google PR declined to disclose whether the deal is facilitating any new plans or what categories specifically it covers.

But this agreement could also be a ploy to lock LG into the Android world by making it such a close partner in mobile.