Google and Tencent sign patent cross-licensing agreement
What's the story
Tech giant Google has entered a patent cross-licensing agreement with China's Tencent. The move is being noted as Google's way to expand in the country. Google said that the patent deal covers "a broad range of products and technologies" and is "long-term." None of the two companies divulged the terms of the agreement or any further information.
Context
Google might be slowly making its way into China
This comes in the light of Google's Search, Play Store and Gmail services remaining blocked in China. Even though Google maintains a limited presence in the country, it has recently been observed to ramp up its non-core services in China. These have included opening an AI research lab in Beijing, opening an office space in Shenzhen, and investing in Chinese game streaming platform Chushou.
Background
Tencent is China's first company to be valued over $500bn
This is Google's first such deal with a large Chinese tech firm. The company believes that these agreements help reduce the chances of litigation in case of patent infringement. Notably, Tencent, which is also China's first company to be valued over $500 billion, owns the massively popular WeChat service with close to a billion users.
Quote
Google, Tencent will work together on future innovation and technology
"By working together on agreements such as this, tech companies can focus on building better products and services for their users," Google's Head of Patents Mike Lee said, focusing on the fact that the two companies will work on future innovation and technology.