MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent
licenses, today announced that several leading companies and a
university have filed separate patent enforcement actions in District
Court Dusseldorf, Germany against Alba plc ("Alba") for infringing
patents essential to the MPEG-2 digital video compression standard
used worldwide in digital television broadcasting and DVD.
"We have offered Alba a license for many years, but regrettably
they have refused," said MPEG LA CEO Larry Horn. "We join those patent
owners whose technologies Alba is using without benefit of license and
those companies who are licensed and paying their fair share of
royalties in the hope that these actions finally will get their
attention."
Included among the plaintiffs are: CIF Licensing, LLC; The
Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York; GE Technology
Development, Inc.; Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.;
Mitsubishi Denki K.K.; Koninklijke Philips Electronics, N.V.; Samsung
Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sony Corporation; Thomson Licensing S.A.; and
Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.
According to the complaints, Alba offers in Germany products such
as digital televisions, DVD players and set-top boxes that use patent
protected MPEG-2 methods without having entered into licenses with the
individual patent holders or a portfolio license that includes these
patents offered by MPEG LA.
The suit seeks, among other things, monetary damages and an
injunction prohibiting Alba from using MPEG-2 patents in its products
and from offering, marketing, or importing them.
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 more than 825 MPEG-2 essential patents in 57 countries, has
approximately 1300 licensees accounting for most MPEG-2 products
including set-top boxes, DVD players, digital television sets,
personal computers and DVD Video Discs in the current world market.
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.
