Google and Apple execs are reportedly talking. Is a truce at hand?

By Matthew Shaer / August 30, 2012

Reuters

Last week, a California jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple over $1 billion – penance for violating a number of key smartphone and tablet patents. That much we knew. Here's what we didn't know: According to Reuters, shortly before the verdict was announced, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google chief Larry Page conducted at least one "behind-the-scenes conversation," in an effort to keep open "the lines of communication" between the two tech titans.

Charles Cooper and Roger Cheng of CNET have since confirmed that the talks took place.

The whole thing is big deal for a couple reasons. For one, Apple and Google are known rivals; high-level talks like this are rare. For another, those Samsung devices named in the Apple lawsuit all ran versions of Google's Android operating system. Although Google has sought to "keep the matter at arm's length," as The Verge put it, it's clear that the verdict will directly affect Google.

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Google and Apple execs are reportedly talking. Is a truce at hand?

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google chief Larry Page conducted at least one 'behind-the-scenes conversation' last week, shortly before a California jury issued a verdict in a major copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Apple.