Google Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. have entered in a long term deal to license each other's intellectual property, saying they want to curb the patent lawsuits that have plagued the industry. The deal covers a large range of products and allows each company to use "significant value" from its patents. The deal brings the two businesses together that rarely compete directly. The agreement will lower the risk of future lawsuits, according to a statement released by the companies. Dan Lang, vice president of intellectual property said, "In today's overly litigious environment, crosslicensing is an effective way for technology companies to work together and help prevent unnecessary patent lawsuits."