MPEG LA, LLC today announced the availability of the MVC Patent Portfolio License. The joint license includes patents that are essential to the Multiview Video Coding (MVC) standard for encoding and decoding 3D video.
The MVC standard is used in Blu-ray Disc 3D players, recorders, software, PCs, optical discs, 3D video cameras, and 3D playback devices.
Current MVC essential patent holders include Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation; Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.; Fujitsu Limited; Hewlett-Packard Company; Hitachi Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd.; Koninklijke KPN N.V.; LG Electronics Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT); NTT DOCOMO, Inc.; Panasonic Corporation; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York; and Thomson Licensing.
Bill Geary, Vice President of Business Development at MPEG LA, will introduce the MVC patent pool license at the Asia-Pacific 3D Standards & IP Forum to be held on February 24 in Seoul, Korea. Mr. Geary said, "We are honored to introduce an efficient patent licensing solution for 3D MVC video and join a multi-national panel of speakers who will address IP and standards development for 3D applications in entertainment, medicine, and education."
Below is a brief summary of the licensing terms for informational purposes only. The MVC Patent Portfolio License may be obtained from MPEG LA at
http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/MVC/Pages/AgreementExpress.aspx.
- Royalty of $0.10 per unit for a Multiple View MVC Product including an
MVC decoder, encoder, or codec
- Licensees also may choose a simplified reporting option affording them
a 10% discount on per unit encoder and decoder royalties (not
applicable to Legal Entity/Enterprise Cap)
- Includes right to make, have made, sell, offer for sale, import, and
for an end user to use Multiple View MVC Products
- Legal Entity/Enterprise cap of $6.5 million annually for Multiple View
MVC Products
- Title-by-Title Multiple View MVC Video including 3D Blu-ray® optical
discs
- 12 minutes or less = no royalty
- At least 12 minutes in length = lower of (a) 1% or (b) $0.01 per
title
- Subscription Multiple View MVC Video (not limited by title)
- 100,000 or fewer subscribers/yr = no royalty
- 100,001 to 250,000 subscribers/yr = $25,000
- 250,001 to 500,000 subscribers/yr = $50,000
- 500,001 to 1,000,000 subscribers/yr = $75,000
- 1,000,001 to 5,000,000 subscribers/yr = $100,000
- 5,000,001 to 25,000,000 subscribers/yr = $200,000
- Greater than 25M subscribers/yr = $300,000
- Legal Entity/Enterprise cap of $6.5 million annually for Subscription
and Title-by-Title Multiple View MVC Video
- Coverage from January 1, 2010
- Royalties payable on licensed products from January 1, 2011
- Initial license term to December 31, 2016 with right of renewal