MPEG LA Announces Effort To Facilitate HD DVD Patent License

Call for Essential Intellectual Property is First Step

May 17, 2007

MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in one-stop technology standards patent licensing, today issued a call for patents and patent applications that are essential to the HD DVD Standard in order to facilitate creation of a joint HD DVD patent license. “Continuing in its mission to respond to the market’s need for fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory access to patents essential to defined technologies, MPEG LA is pleased to accept an invitation to facilitate this effort so that users may have the benefit of a convenient marketplace licensing alternative to assist them with implementation of their technology choices,” said MPEG LA Chief Executive Officer Larry Horn. The call begins a process of evaluating and determining patents that are essential to the standard in order to include them in a joint patent portfolio license providing users with fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory access to the technology as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. A summary of the MPEG LA facilitation effort with reference to the HD DVD Standard is attached. HD DVD Standard HD DVD refers to a next generation optical disc format developed by the DVD Forum, an international association of hardware manufacturers, software firms, content providers and other users of Digital Versatile Discs. The format was developed to enable recording, re-writing and playback of high definition (HD) video and audio, as well as storing large amounts of data. The new format uses a blue-violet laser with a short wave length (405 nm) allowing a large amount of data to be packed tightly and stored on a standard size disc. The HD DVD standard refers generally to (a) a rewritable optical disc, a recordable optical disc and a read-only optical disc; (b) the method of playing such discs; and (c) recording methods. For more information, see http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/hd_dvd/hd_what.html. 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. ATTACHMENT Following is a summary of MPEG LA's facilitation effort for creating a joint HD DVD patent license: 1. Objective: To establish a portfolio of essential worldwide patents that are necessary for implementation of the HD DVD Standard in order to provide users with fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to as much essential intellectual property as possible under one license. 2. Scope of Evaluation: Essential patents may consist of issued or otherwise enforceable patents (but see Section 5 below) having one or more claims that are infringed by use or implementation of the HD DVD Standard as embodied in the following documents which may be obtained at http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/hd_dvd/hd_what.html. A. DVD Specifications for High Density Read-Only Disc (HD DVD-ROM) Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.2 Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.0 B. DVD Specifications for High Definition Video (HD DVD-Video) DVD Specifications for High Definition Video Ver. 1.1 Reference Information - MLP Reference Information Ver. 1.0 Reference Information - DTS-HD Reference Information Ver. 1.0 C. DVD Specifications for High Density Recordable Disc (HD DVD-R) Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1 Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-R Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: 2x-speed HD DVD-R Rev. 2.0 Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0 Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1 D. DVD Specifications for High Density Recordable Disc (HD DVD-R for DL) Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATION Ver. 2.1 Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-R for DL Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0 Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 2.0 E. DVD Specifications for High Density Re-recordable Disc (HD DVD-RW) Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1 Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-RW Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: 2x-speed HD DVD-RW Rev. 2.0 Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0 Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.0 F. DVD Specifications for High Density Re-recordable Disc (HD DVD-RW for DL) Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATION Ver. 2.1 Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-RW for DL Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0 Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 2.0 G. DVD Specifications for High Density Rewritable Disc (HD DVD-RAM) Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1 Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-Rewritable Rev. 1.01 Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0 Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0 Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.0 H. DVD Specifications for High Definition Video Recording (HD DVD-VR) DVD Specifications for High Definition Video Recording Ver. 1.0 In addition, to assure that the license development process may benefit from the views of parties who potentially may obtain essential patent rights in the future as well as those who currently have them, any owner of a patent application with claims that the owner believes are essential to the Standard and likely to issue in a patent are welcome to submit it for an evaluation of its essentiality by independent patent experts in order potentially to participate in the license development process (only issued patents would be included in the license, however). If a patent application with essential claims does not issue as a patent or is found not to contain essential claims when it subsequently issues as a patent, it will no longer provide a basis for participation. 3. Organization The patent portfolio may require at least the following functions: First, as Evaluation Facilitator, MPEG LA has made a call described in this announcement for the submission of patents (and patent applications) for an evaluation of their essentiality by patent experts and inclusion in a joint license if determined to be essential. MPEG LA also will facilitate the evaluation process, convene the initial group of essential patent (and patent application) holders and facilitate their deliberations to consider terms of a joint license as described below. Second, an Evaluator (identified below) will evaluate patents (and patent applications) for essentiality with respect to the HD DVD Standard (as set forth in Section 2). Any party that believes it has essential patents (or patent applications) is invited to submit them for evaluation and inclusion in accordance with the terms and procedures governing submissions (see Section 5). Third, an initial group of essential patent (and patent application) holders who have agreed to the terms governing the submission of patents (and patent applications) and been found by the independent patent experts to have essential intellectual property will be convened to decide licensing terms. Patent (and patent application) evaluations will continue and submissions may continue to be made for later inclusion and participation by patent owners. After joint license terms are decided, evaluations will continue throughout the course of the license in order to include as much essential intellectual property as possible. Fourth, a licensing administrator, including details of the licensing administrator's retention, will be determined by the initial group of patent holders. 4. Licensing details To be determined by the essential patent owners. 5. Planned Schedule Initial submissions: by June 29, 2007. Any party that believes it has a patent (or patent application) in US, EPO, Japan or Korea that is essential to the standard and wishes to join the HD DVD Patent Portfolio License is invited to submit it for evaluation of essentiality by MPEG LA's patent experts (counterpart patents in other countries may be included once there is an active license and a party becomes a Licensor). Evaluations will be conducted by Dr. Kenneth Rubenstein of Proskauer Rose LLP and his worldwide team of patent experts in Europe, Japan and Korea. Further information, along with terms and procedures governing patent submissions, can be found at http://www.mpegla.com/pid/hddvd/. Although submissions may continue to be made after that date, patent or patent application owners who submit patents or patent applications by that date which are determined to be essential will be invited to attend an initial meeting of essential patent holders expected to be held in September 2007.

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http://www.mpegla.com/pid/hddvd/
http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/hd_dvd/hd_what.html