MPEG LA Issues VC-1 Patent Portfolio License

MPEG LA today announced the availability of the VC-1 Patent Portfolio License. Copies of the license agreement may be obtained at http://www.mpegla.com/vc1/vc1-agreement.cfm.

As a convenience to the marketplace, the VC-1 Patent Portfolio License offers fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to essential VC-1 intellectual property owned by multiple patent holders in a single license as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. The License includes essential VC-1 patents owned by DAEWOO Electronics Corporation; France Telecom, societe anonyme; Fujitsu Limited; Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.; LG Electronics Inc.; Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic); Microsoft Corporation; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation; Pantech&Curitel Communications, Inc.; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; Telenor ASA; Toshiba Corporation; and Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC).

“The availability of this license is a testimony to the hard work and cooperation of the patent owners and input from major industry sectors,” said MPEG LA Chief Executive Officer Larry Horn. “It affirms further achievement of MPEG LA’s goal and the success of its business model in offering a convenient one-stop shop to assist users with implementation of their choice among many technologies available to them. MPEG LA remains committed to continued innovation in its licenses to offer increased convenience that supports the marketplace’s ability to produce innovative new products that offer a wide array of choices and flexibility to consumers.”

VC-1 refers to the digital video coding technology (formally known as SMPTE 421M-2006) that is used in many media players, advanced optical disc players and other products. For example, VC-1 is one of the three video decoders specified by both the Blu-ray Disc™ and HD DVD standards to be included in Blu-ray Disc™ and HD DVD players. The Blu-ray Disc™ and HD DVD standards also specify MPEG-2 and AVC/H.264 video decoders, for which MPEG LA also offers alternative patent licenses.

MPEG LA’s objective is to provide worldwide access to as much VC-1 essential intellectual property as possible for the benefit of licensees (new patent holders and essential patents may be added at no additional royalty during the current term of the License). Therefore, any party that believes that it has a patent which is essential to the VC-1 Standard and would like to participate in the VC-1 Patent Portfolio License is invited to submit its patent(s) for an evaluation of essentiality by MPEG LA’s patent experts and inclusion in the License if determined to be essential. Interested parties may request a copy of the terms and procedures governing patent submissions by going to http://www.mpegla.com/vc1/vc1-licensors.cfm.

MPEG LA, LLC
MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses, enabling users to acquire worldwide patent rights necessary for a technology standard or platform from multiple patent holders in a single transaction as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. Wherever an independently administered one-stop patent license would provide a convenient marketplace alternative to assist users with implementation of their technology choices, the licensing model pioneered and employed by MPEG LA may provide a solution. By balancing patent users’ interest in reasonable access with patent owners’ interest in reasonable return, MPEG LA creates the opportunity for adoption of new technologies and fuels innovation. MPEG LA’s initial licensing program for MPEG-2 digital video compression helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history, and the MPEG LA Licensing Model has become the template for addressing other technologies. Today MPEG LA manages licensing programs consisting of essential patents in 57 countries. MPEG LA is an independent licensing administrator; it is not related to any standards agency and is not an affiliate of any patent holder. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.