Toshiba-LG Contract: Next-Gen DVD Formats to be Affected?

Thursday, February 9, 2006

Toshiba-LG Contract: Next-Gen DVD Formats to be Affected?

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Toshiba Corporation and LG Electronics announced on Thursday that the cross-license contract concerning the patent of the optical storage part of both companieshas has been concluded.

This agreement implicates worldwide patents of both companies on optical disc, optical disc drive and optical disc player/recorder products.

The two companies are assuming that this contract will develop the DVD related product and strengthen commercialization in the future.

South Korea LG Electronics with Hitachi-LG HLDS (Hitachi LG Data Storage) are members ofthe the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) as Toshiba is one of the main leaders in the HD-DVD camp.The main question to be answered now is whether this latest contract will have any consequences on the competition between the two formats. Are there any chances for consumers to see a Blu-Ray HD-DVD combo drive in the future?

No mention has either been made on whether this agreement will affect the TSST (Toshiba Samsung optical storage) collaboration.