Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google's Larry Page in secret peace talks?

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google's Larry Page in secret patent talks?
Summit talks to start the long load to peace?

Reports on Wednesday claim that high level talks between the CEOs of Apple and Google have taken place, with a view to resolving a host of patent disputes.

As first reported by Reuters, Tim Cook and Larry Page have engaged in behind the scenes discussions regarding intellectual property matters, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The story was later 'confirmed' by AllThingsD, which consulted its own sources on the story.

Those in-the-know bods revealed that at least one more meeting between, arguably, the two most important men in tech has been scheduled.

Keeping it out of the courtroom

News of the summit comes less than a week after Samsung was found guilty of multiple counts of patent infringement, as alleged by Apple.

Although the award of $1.05 billion strikes at the heart of one of it key manufacturing competitors, many observers believe that Apple's true motivation is to stifle the Android operating system that powers Samsung's tech.

In the wake of the court ruling, Google issued a statement claiming none of the infringed-upon patents relate to 'core Android,' and it would await the results of a Samsung appeal.

As well as its beef with the Android OS, Apple also has pending legal proceedings with Motorola, the manufacturer now, of course, owned by Google.

Any accord the two behemoths could reach, likely through cross-licensing agreements, would avoid another long and expensive courtroom saga for which we would all be grateful.

Playmates

The Cook/Page summit is perhaps the first sign that Google and Apple can play nicely with each other again, without tantrums and toys getting chucked out of prams.

The pair were the best of pals throughout much of the last decade, until Google launched the Android operating system, enraging the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who felt it 'wholesale ripped off the iPhone.'

In his official biography Jobs was quoted as saying he was willing to go "thermonuclear war" and spend "every dollar Apple has in the bank" to right the perceived injustice.

Soured relations

Relations have soured ever since, most recently with Apple removing the built-in YouTube app and dropping Google Maps for its own solution from the latest version of iOS.

Representatives from Apple and Google have so far declined to comment on the reports, but we'll be sure to bring you any updates.

Via: AllThingsD, Reuters

Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.

Latest in Tech
Josie and Matt laughing in front of the Google Pixel 9a
TechRadar Podcast: Is the Pixel 9a ugly? Has Apple ruined the smartwatch market? And is Samsung's One UI in trouble?
A Lego Pikachu tail next to a Pebble OS watch and a screenshot of Assassin's Creed Shadow
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from LG's excellent new OLED TV to our Assassin's Creed Shadow review
A triptych image of the Meridian Ellipse, LG C5 and Xiaomi 15.
5 amazing tech reviews of the week: LG's latest OLED TV is the best you can buy and Xiaomi's seriously powerful new phone
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones in Black and Gold on yellow background with big savings text
The best Beats headphones you can buy drop to $169.99 at Best Buy's Tech Fest sale
Ray-Ban smart glasses with the Cpperni logo, an LED array, and a MacBook Air with M4 next to ecah other.
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Twitter's massive outage to iRobot's impressive new Roombas
A triptych image featuring the Sennheiser HD 505, Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025), and Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4).
5 unmissable tech reviews of the week: why the MacBook Air (M4) should be your next laptop and the best sounding OLED TV ever
Latest in News
An image of Pro-Ject's Flatten it closed and opened
Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day
EA Sports F1 25 promotional image featuring drivers Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman.
F1 25 has been officially announced, with this year's entry marking a return for Braking Point and a 'significant overhaul' for My Team mode
Garmin clippd integration
Garmin's golf watches just got a big software integration upgrade to help you improve your game
Robert Downey Jr reveals himself as Doctor Doom to a delighted crowd at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
Marvel is currently revealing the full cast for Avengers: Doomsday, and I think it's going to be a long-winded announcement
Samsung QN90F on yellow background
Samsung announces US prices for its 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, and it’s good and bad news
Nintendo Switch Lite
Forget the Nintendo Switch 2, the original Switch is getting one last hurrah in a surprise Nintendo Direct tomorrow