Samsung Electronics said Monday (February 8) that it had agreed to resolve a more than two-year-long patent dispute with Sharp and sign a cross-license deal with the Japanese firm.

"We agreed to withdraw all of the lawsuits that we had proceeded with in the United States, Japan and Europe since 2007," Samsung said in a statement.

The two companies have been embroiled in a string of suits and countersuits over technology used in liquid crystal display screens.

The US International Trade Commission said last week it would probe a complaint filed by Sharp in early January that Samsung Electronics infringed Sharp's LCD panels. Sharp asked the ITC to bar entry of Samsung televisions and other devices made with the technology in dispute.

Sharp said in mid-December that it had won an LCD patent lawsuit against Samsung in the Netherlands.

Patent disputes often culminate in an agreement on cross-licensing patents.

"While we filed lawsuits against each other, we have engaged in closed-door negotiations," a Samsung spokesperson said.