Google and Samsung in Deal to Cooperate on Patents Google and Samsung Electronics, which are frequently involved in patent infringement lawsuits but not against each other, announced on Sunday that they had reached a global patent cross-licensing agreement. The deal covers patents owned by the companies, as well as any filed in the next 10 years, the companies said. Financial terms were not disclosed. The companies said in a statement that the deal "would lead to deeper collaboration on research and development of current and future projects." "By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation," said Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google. Seungho Ahn, head of Samsung's intellectual property center, said the deal showed "the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes." The companies have been at the center of the smartphone patent wars, though more as allies than opponents. A majority of the litigation has been between Apple and the various companies involved in making smartphones based on Google's Android software, including Samsung and Google's Motorola Mobility.