Tim Cook and Larry Page Working to Address Patent Issues Between Apple and Google

Reuters reports that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Larry Page have been participating in active discussions to address patent issues relating to the two companies, "keeping the lines of communication open" as patent battles between Apple on one side and Google and its Android hardware partners on the other side continue to rage.

Google Inc CEO Larry Page and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been conducting behind-the-scenes conversations about a range of intellectual property matters, including the ongoing mobile patent disputes between the companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The two chief executives had a phone conversation last week, the sources said. Discussions involving lower-level officials of the two companies are also ongoing.

apple google
The two executives and their associates have reportedly been discussing some sort of settlement truce addressing some of the more minor issues that have been included in the disputes between the two companies. It is unclear, however, whether a broader agreement to address larger issues is also on the table.

Late last week, Apple was awarded over $1 billion in a jury verdict deciding that Samsung had infringed upon Apple's patents and trade dress with a number of its Android products. With Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, which has been involved in patent litigation with Apple for some time, Apple and Google are now also essentially competing head-to-head in the courts over these issues.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

samcraig Avatar
155 months ago
Feeling the heat now, Larry? But I thought Android and your lackey Schmidt had nothing to do with stealing IP from Apple, right?

Android is DEAD. And so is Google.

Thanks for the laugh. Truly ridiculous. Even if Android were to die - that wouldn't mean the end to Google by a longshot. Good luck with that dream and hatred though!
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
155 months ago
Cross licensing instead of litigating, invalidating, banning. Cheaper, easier for all parties and Internet forums.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WannaGoMac Avatar
155 months ago
I miss Steve

Sigh, so much for going thermonuclear on Google :(
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
155 months ago
Google is scared and does not want to assume the position. ;)

Google isn't running scared at all. I think both parties are probably just tired of the warring, it's counter productive and prevents building on the shoulders of giants. Best to just cross-license what they have instead of searching for prior art, invalidating, working around patents, etc..

Both parties infringe on patents, Apple does it, Google does it. It's not willful, with patents, sometimes it's just darn hard to even know a patent exists and that your solution infringes on it. Heck, even when you know of a patent, it's hard to determine infringement, with plaintiffs claiming as hard as they can you are, and you explaining the cases the patent doesn't cover, not to mention the prior art that invalidates it.

Wasted energy on both sides, for all players. Sometimes, just paying licensing fees that are reasonable to all and cross-licensing agreements are just best. It's cheaper than litigating and ressources can concentrate on implementing new technology.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
basesloaded190 Avatar
155 months ago
A cross licensing agreement between these two companies similar to the one Apple has with Microsoft would be incredible.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lazard Avatar
155 months ago
Why???

What IP does Google own that Apple would want?
(Nothing)
Patent No. 5,883,580 “Geographic-temporal significant messaging”

This patent, issued on March 16th, 1999 talks about “messaging devices that process messages logically for a user in the context of space and time”. Translated from legalese – it’s about your iPhone being able to display geographically relevant messages when you are at a certain place. E.g. traffic alerts when you are near the congested intersection, ability to schedule reminders when you are approaching your workplace or leaving your home, getting a pop-up to remember to buy some milk when you are in a grocery store, etc;


Patent No. 5,922,047 “Apparatus, method and system for multimedia control and communication”

The ‘047 patent, issued on July 13, 199 is really broad and, according to Motorola, covers such basic device functionality as being able to launch and use any media application, while also being a phone. E.g. tapping on video player icon on iPhone 4S constitutes infringement, because it means that your phone switches to another operating mode (video player) among many (telephone, music player, browser, etc;), in response to a first control signal (tapping on a video icon) and, after video player launches, it is controlled via multiple other control signals – e.g tap to Pause/Play, Fast Forward, etc;


Patent No. 6,425,002 “Apparatus and method for handling dispatching messages for various applications of a communication device”

‘002 patent was issued on July 23, 2002 and covers the API for routing incoming and outgoing messages to the correct applications. Motorola thinks that Apple’s Push Notification functionality, allowing your apps to automatically send and receive push messages, is covered by ththis patent and infringes on it.


Patent No. 6,493,673 “Markup language for interactive services and methods thereof”

This patent, issued on Dec. 10, 2002 covers interactive voice services delivered over the internet, and goes after Siri. Motorola does not care much about the artificial intelligence and all other fancy stuff Siri does. According to the patent claims, Motorola has invented the basic interactive dialog process Siri uses. And the way Apple renders XML files to allow you talk to Siri, is a no no without a license. “Siri, set a reminder for 2, tomorrow”, “2PM or 2AM”, “2PM” , “OK, setting reminder for 2PM on Wednesday, Aug. 22nd” . Doesn’t matter how Siri figures out what to ask and what to tell you. Simply by performing this dialog, and using a markup language to do it – Siri infringes. Or at least that’s what Motorola claims.


Patent No. 6,983,370 “System for providing continuity between messaging clients and method therefor”

The ‘370 patent, issued on January 3d, 2006 talks about seamless IM session switching between various devices, and says that all iMessage capable devices are infringing on it. Started your iMessage chat on your MacBook, then continued it on the way to work on your iPhone? Google says that the way Apple does this – by storing your chat data on its servers and then transferring the chat data from MacBook to iPhone – is Moto’s invention. This patent is also part of Motorola’s litigation with Microsoft in U.S.


Patent No. 7,007,064 “Method and apparatus for obtaining and managing wirelessly communicated content”

‘064 patent, issued on Feb 28, 2006 goes after e-mail syncing between your Macs and iOS devices via iCloud. It is a rather narrow patent, and only insists that the way Apple keeps your e-mails in sync, by deleting messages on one of your igadgets when you delete that same message on the other, is an infringing use.


Patent No. 7,383,983 “System and method for managing content between devices in various domains”

This patent covers the ability to pause video or audio playback on your iPad, and then resume playing the content from the same place on a different iDevice.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)