The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C) has revised its worldwide
patent licensing program beginning on and after July 1, 2008,
including offering a new license agreement (the "New DVD6C
License"), which offers reduced royalty rates on DVD Decoder and
DVD Encoder, respectively.
The DVD6C's patent royalty for DVD Decoder is the greater of 4%
of the Net Selling Price of the DVD Decoder or US$1.00 per
decoder sold on or before the effective date of the New DVD6C
License, and the new royalty rate will be US$0.50 per decoder on
or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License.
Similarly, the DVD6C's patent royalty for DVD Encoder is the
greater of 4% of the Net Selling Price of the DVD Encoder or
US$1.50 per encoder sold on or before the effective date of the
New DVD6C License, and the new royalty rate will be US$0.75 per
encoder on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C License.
The DVD6C group includes nine developers of DVD technology and
formats --- Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,
Ltd. (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Samsung
Electronics Co., Ltd., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp
Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.
(JVC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
The royalty rates to be offered under the new DVD6C License are
shown below:
| Category |
Royalty |
DVD
Decoder
(Newly revised) |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$1.00 per decoder
US$0.50 per decoder on
or after the effective date of the New DVD6C
License |
DVD
Encoder
(Newly revised) |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$1.50 per decoder
US$0.75 per encoder on
or after the effective date of the New DVD6C
License |
| DVD-Video Player |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$4.00 per player
or,
US$3.00 per player on or after
the effective
date of the New
DVD6C License
US$8.00 at maximum on or after January 1,
2003
|
| DVD-Audio Player |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$4.00 per player
or,
US$3.00 per player on or after
the effective
date of the New
DVD6C License
US$8.00 at maximum on or after January 1,
2003
|
| DVD-ROM
Drive |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$4.00 per drive
or,
US$3.00 per drive on or
after the effective
date
of the New DVD6C License
US$8.00 at maximum on or after
January 1, 2003 |
| DVD-ROM
Disc |
US$0.075 per
disc;
US$0.065 per disc on or
after January 1, 2002;
US$0.05 per disc on or after January
1, 2004;
US$0.040 per disc on or after the effective date
of the New DVD6C License |
| DVD-Video Disc |
US$0.075 per
disc;
US$0.065 per disc on or
after January 1, 2002;
US$0.05 per disc on or after January
1, 2004;
US$0.040 per disc on or after the effective date
of the New DVD6C License |
| DVD-Audio Disc |
US$0.075 per
disc;
US$0.05 per disc on or
after January 1, 2004;
US$0.040 per disc on or after the
effective date of the New DVD6C License
|
| DVD
Video Recorder |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$6.00 per recorder |
| DVD
(Recordable Disc) Drive |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or >br> (ii) US$6.00 per drive
|
| DVD-R
Disc |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$0.075 per disc;
US$0.045 per disc on or
after January 1, 2006 |
| DVD-RW
Disc |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$0.075 per disc or,
US$0.065 per disc on
or after the effective date of the New DVD6C
License |
| DVD-RAM
Disc |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$0.075 per disc or,
US$0.065 per disc on
or after the effective date of the New DVD6C
License |
| Recordable Disc Case |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US?0.5 per case |
| +R
Disc |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$0.075 per disc, or
US$0.045 per disc
on or after January 1, 2006 |
| +RW
Disc |
The greater of
(i) 4% of the net selling
price or
(ii) US$0.075 per disc or,
US$0.065 per disc
on or after the effective date of the New DVD6C
License
|