Representatives from Google and Microsoft have agreed to drop all regulatory complaints against one another, and instead come to agreements outside of the courtroom on all remaining issues.
The two companies also agreed that they will try and work among themselves to resolve future issues before turning to regulators.
“Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities,” a Microsoft representative said in a statement to Re/code. “We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers.”
Google echoed this same sentiment: “Our companies compete vigorously, but we want to do so on the merits of our products, not in legal proceedings.”
No product commitments were promised to either side as part of this deal.
Perhaps the biggest reason why this ceasefire has been agreed to has to do with a recent change in heads of state at both companies. Current CEOs Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella have – quite publicly – gotten along well with one another, much more so than their predecessors Steve Ballmer and Eric Schmidt, who – again, quite publicly – argued over a bevy of issues from browsers to search engine practices to even the hiring of Kai-Fu Lee.
Nadella, specifically, has been particularly proactive in thawing the relationship between the two companies — just recently, it was announced that Microsoft would be making a move to embrace Android and Apple’s iOS due to its lack of success in the smartphone business. Among the product brought under those operating systems – Office and Skype.
Additionally, last November Microsoft agreed to drop its remaining patent litigation against Google. It was a bit of a headline grabber, as the company is still seeking patent royalties from hardware makers that use Android and Linux in their products, but a move that clearly helped start a conversation to open further dialogue between the two companies.
Via recode.net
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