« IBM Patent Exposure | Main | Malocclusion Mended »
September 27, 2006
Licensing Muscle
Royal
Philips Electronics, with patents that roped in licensing agreements for
CD-R manufacture from optical storage makers CMC Magnetics, Ritek, Prodisc
Technology, and Lead Data, has been pushing a new per-unit licensing scheme,
called Veeza. The optical disc makers have resisted, fearing a hike in fees. So Phillips
pulled the rug out from under them.
The per-unit Veeza scheme requires verification. Phillips has affirmed non-disclosure, so as to let the makers keep their production numbers hush-hush.
Ritek's license expired in May. Under the gun, Ritek signed on to the Veeza scheme. For others, to apply pressure, Phillips terminated their existing licenses, citing licensing term violation.
There's dispute over ownership of optical storage patents, particularly between two licensing alliances: 3C (Philips, Sony, Pioneer, LG Electronics) and 6C (Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba, Sharp, Sanyo Electric, Warner Home Video). Taiwan makers, who are the world beaters, have only paid a portion of the claimed fees, deferring payment until the dust settles.
Phillips is planning to shift its DVD patent licensing to the Veeza scheme some time next year. Phillips just announced a 41.7% drop in DVD royalty charge, a greasing of the skids for Veeza.
Posted by Patent Hawk at September 27, 2006 5:13 PM | Patents In Business