Announced on Friday (December 25), Sharp Corporation and Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. entered into a LED and Laser Diode Patent Cross-Licensing Agreement. The news come after over a year from Sharp’s cross-licensing agreement with LED manufacturer Nichia Corp (November 21, 2008 ). The agreement will entitle them to have access to each others’ patents in the fields of LEDs and laser diodes which are used in such devices as Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

Just a footnote: Sharp began mass production of LEDs in 1970 and is the first in the world to begin mass production of infrared laser diodes for CDs (1982).