Google and a group of top Android phone makers have sealed a new agreement to collectively defend themselves against patent lawsuits.
The group, which also includes Samsung, LG, and HTC, have agreed to share patents covering “Android and Google Applications” on any device that meets Android’s compatibility requirements.
The patents will be shared for free, and the group is supposed to be free and open for any company to join.
The agreement’s proper name is the “Android Networked Cross-License,” but the group is calling it PAX for short.
“Pax” means “peace” in Latin, and Google says the agreement is about reaching a legal peace within the tech world.
“In the world of intellectual property, patent peace often coincides with innovation and healthy competition that benefit consumers,” writes Jamie Rosenberg, an Android business VP with Google.
For Google, this agreement also helps to open the Android ecosystem up to smaller companies that may be interested in making a device but fear litigation.