Sony and Samsung have teamed up by agreeing to share the majority of the 24,000 patents that they jointly hold. It remains to be seen how this will affect each manufacturer’s digital cameras and accessories - will we see Sony’s unique Night Hologram mode appearing on Samsung cameras, for example?

“Sony and Samsung started negotiations on the cross-licensing deal in December 2003. The agreement is broad, covering 94 percent of Sony’s 13,000 U.S. registered patents, and a similar percentage of Samsung’s 11,000 U.S. registered patents.

The remainder are viewed as “differentiation technology patents” and will remain the sole property of each company. They include patents on the PlayStation’s architecture and Samsung’s home networking technology.”

Website: CIOL