Google takes another step to ensure smooth working of the Android ecosystem by introducing a new cross-license agreement. Named as PAX, the program is a patent licensing initiative with a focus on patent peace. Developed with the help of Android OEMs, Google has tried to provide balanced patent solutions through this PAX (Latin word for peace) cross-license agreement.

Members under the PAX program will ‘grant each other royalty-free patent licenses covering Android and Google Applications on qualified devices’. Google, Samsung, LG, HTC, Foxconn, HMD Global, Coolpad, BQ, and Allview are the founding members who own 230,000 patents worldwide. Google has made PAX free to join and open to anyone.

Google believes PAX will further expand the openness of Android for its members thus ensuring that innovation and consumer choice will continue to be key drivers of Android ecosystem and not patent threats. This in turn will free up time and money for members, who can then dedicate those resources to creating new ideas.

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This move by Google, although welcomed, is also being seen in the form a negative light painting a rather gloomy picture about Google. It also goes on to show that Google is attempting to make the Android ecosystem run as per its fancy, making other Android OEMs succumb to its rules and regulations and disarm them of their intellectual property.

via Phonearena