Google and Apple reported to be holding "nuclear disarmament" talks

According to a Reuter’s report, Apple and Google are holding ongoing intellectual property talks that go up to the highest levels, including direct conversations between Google’s Larry Page and Apple’s Tim Cook. The always popular “people familiar with the matter” speaking to Reuters said that the talks specifically involved ongoing patent disputes over mobile software, and that lower-level officials in the company are also ongoing.

The two CEOs were reported to have spoken as recently as last week, holding a phone conversation on IP in the wake of the Apple v. Samsung ruling. According to the same sources another meeting was supposed to take place this week but was postponed for unknown reasons.

Obviously the report is somewhat sketchy with details, but the fact that Apple and Google are engaging in regular discussions at multiple levels of company leadership can only be a good thing; if we are ever going to see a truce emerge in the mobile patent wars it will probably take this sort of long-term commitment to finding a solution that is equitable to both sides.

Not surprisingly both companies have declines to comment on the story; we have no way of knowing whether these discussions will bear fruit any time soon, or even at all; still, the fact that high-level talks are occurring in a sustained manner may be the first serious hope for a ceasefire that fans of mobile technology have seen in quite some time. So here’s to hoping that Apple and Google's differences can be worked out, so that all the money being spent on lawyers can instead be spent on researching new products!

source: Reuters via Droid-Life