HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) Specification on behalf of the HDMI Founders, today announced HDMI Forum, Inc., a new organization designed to foster broader industry participation in the development of future versions of the HDMI Specification. All future standardization activities, including development of the Specifications, will be transitioned to the new organization, the agent said. Membership in the HDMI Forum is open.

"With over 1,100 adopters of the technology, and over 2 billion HDMI-enabled products shipped since launching the standard in 2003, the HDMI Founders strongly believe that the next leap in growth will come with broader industry participation," said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing, LLC. "Due to the overwhelming success of the HDMI Specification and the increased adoption of the standard in a wide variety of applications and industries, the HDMI Founders decided to establish the HDMI Forum, a new organization where interested companies can become an integral part of the development process."

The current HDMI licensing model provides access to intellectual property for those who adopt and implement the HDMI Specification. For that reason, Adopters of the HDMI 1.4 Specification will see no change in their day-to-day business as it relates to their interaction with HDMI Licensing, LLC. Current Adopters who wish to license future versions of the Specifications will be able to do so under a similar model.