LG and GE made their licensing agreement announcement at a ceremony held today at LG's R&D Campus in the Gasan area of Seoul, Korea.

LG Electronics has entered into a licensing agreement with GE Consumer & Industrial that allows the two companies to use one another's patents for refrigerators and cooking appliances without paying licensing fees.

"Our long history of working together with GE will help us take advantage of this agreement even more quickly," said Young Ha Lee, President and CEO of LG Electronics Digital Appliance Company.

"This agreement is part of a win-win strategy for both GE and LG,"added Lynn S. Pendergrass, President and CEO, GE Consumer & Industrial, Americas.

Whirlpool filed a patent infringement suit against LG Electronics in January (see story). If successful, Whirlpool claims it would prevent the import of the majority of the refrigerators sold in the United States by LG.

LG and GE made their licensing agreement announcement at a ceremony held today at LG's R&D Campus in the Gasan area of Seoul, Korea. Executives from both companies attended the ceremony.

LG and GE have collaborated on cooking appliances since 1999, both in technologies and product development. This new agreement be especially helpful to LG, in its push to expand its presence in digital appliances globally.

LG has previously entered into key partnerships with other top companies to build its technology and customer base. In 2000 the company partnered with Matsushita's air conditioning division and in 2001 LG allied itself with both Microsoft and Intel in the home networking sector.