MPEG LA, LLC today announced that it has sued Mintek Digital, Inc.
("Mintek"), a manufacturer and supplier of DVD players located in
California, for breach of its MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License
("Contract") with MPEG LA. The suit also names Mintek's parent Jiangsu
Digital Technology Co., Ltd ("Shinco Digital") and Shinco Digital's
parent, Shinco Electronics Group Co., Ltd. ("Shinco Electronics"),
both located in China, as responsible for Mintek's obligations.
According to the complaint, Mintek failed to report fully its use of
MPEG-2 patents and make royalty payments as required by the Contract.
The lawsuit brought in the US District Court of Colorado seeks, among
other things, monetary damages and an order enjoining Mintek from
using MPEG-2 patents in its products.
MPEG LA Chief Executive Officer Larry Horn said, "Mintek cannot be
allowed to offer DVD players without paying for the fundamental MPEG-2
technology that makes them possible. MPEG LA in cooperation with
patent owners has gone to great lengths to make MPEG-2 technology
easily accessible to all users under a single license. Mintek chose to
sign that license for its own convenience, and MPEG LA will not
tolerate Mintek's failure to meet the contractual obligations expected
of all licensees. Mintek's neglect of its contractual obligations is
unfair to both the owners of MPEG-2 technology and MPEG LA's customers
who respect their intellectual property obligations by paying what
they owe."
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. Among MPEG
LA's licenses is one for MPEG-2 digital video compression that has
helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer
electronics history. The MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License, which
includes approximately 800 MPEG-2 essential patents in 57 countries,
has more than 1000 licensees accounting for most MPEG-2 products in
the current world market. DVD videos are encoded with MPEG-2 video
data, and every DVD player contains an MPEG-2 decoder. 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.