Among the more than 20 now-abandoned claims of copyright infringement were attempts by Google to collect royalties from Microsoft's Xbox video game console, and Microsoft's attempts to do the same from Google's Android mobile phone operating system. Each contained technology the other company said it had developed.
In a joint statement to news media, the companies said they would "dismiss all pending patent infringement litigation between them," including tit-for-tat suits between Microsoft and Motorola that Google inherited when it bought the mobile handset maker in 2011.
Instead, Google and Microsoft plan to "collaborate on certain patent matters and anticipate working together in other areas in the future to benefit our customers," the technology giants said.
The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
©2015 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
