Toshiba Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. of South Korea said Thursday they have signed a cross-licensing agreement to allow each to use the other's patented optical disc technologies.

The accord covers disc, disc drive and disc player-recorder technologies that the companies have international patents on. The two firms hope the pact will reduce the time and costs needed to develop advanced optical disc products, including DVDs, they said in a press release.

The optical disc market is enjoying burgeoning growth amid the rapid spread of broadband communications involving high-definition content, which has spurred greater demand for large-capacity storage media.

Both Toshiba and LG Electronics hope to cash in on this trend by taking advantage of the new arrangement, which they believe will help them hone their technical expertise for making faster and thinner products, the two manufacturers said.