MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent
licenses, today announced that several MPEG-2 patent owners have filed
an enforcement action in the Federal District Court of the Southern
District of New York against Target Corporation ("Target") and Doe
Corporations 1-10, fictitious names for corporations currently unknown
to the plaintiffs, for infringing patents essential to the MPEG-2
digital video compression standard used worldwide in digital
television broadcasting and DVD.
According to the complaint, Target offers in its retail stores a
variety of products under its Trutech(R) house brand name, such as
digital televisions and DVD players, 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 complaint also alleges that at Target´s
request the Doe Corporations manufacture and produce the unlicensed
products for sale by Target under Target´s Trutech(R) brand name, but
these Doe Corporations are not believed to be licensed or paying
royalties on Target´s behalf.
"We have offered Target a license, but regrettably they have
refused," said MPEG LA CEO Larry Horn. "We join those patent owners
whose technologies Target 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."
The suit seeks, among other things, monetary damages and an
injunction prohibiting Target 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
more than 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.
