Here are some numbers to play with. It deals with DVD-Video and/or DVD-ROM standards. Can our technology be far behind?
******************
Joint DVD Licensing Program of Philips, Sony and Pioneer Now in Operation
February 16, 1999 23:39
License Availability to Player and Disc Manufacturers Facilitates Entry to The Fast-Growing DVD Marketplace
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips Electronics, acting on behalf of its system partners Sony Corp. and Pioneer Electronic Corp., has started a patent license program for manufacturers who produce and sell players and discs under the DVD system standard, created by the 10 companies including Philips, Sony and Pioneer (DVD). By acquiring licenses from Philips under this program, manufacturers will be allowed to use the Philips, Sony and Pioneer patents for their products under the DVD-Video and/or DVD-ROM standards in this rapidly growing worldwide market.
The DVD format uses optical discs offering greatly increased storage capacity for all kinds of multimedia data, including full-length movies with superior digital video quality, together with multichannel HiFi sound, multi-language voice tracks and subtitling, and numerous other enhancements. In the computer field, next to the storage of large volumes of programs and data, DVD-ROM allows the development of new and more realistic programs, with high-quality full-screen video, 3-D animation and multilingual HiFi audio. With the support of all the leading companies in the various application fields, DVD already has the status of a true world standard format.
The licensing program handled by Philips has now taken effect following a review by the U.S. Department of Justice. Under this program, prospective licensees can enter into an agreement with Philips to obtain a substantial part of the necessary patent licenses for their own player and/or disc manufacturing.
The licenses granted by Philips include rights to essential patents for DVD-Video and DVD-ROM technologies. They also include a license under MPEG2 audio patents from Philips, IRT and CCETT for the use of MPEG2 audio technology, but do not include encoding or decoding of MPEG2 Video nor any essential patents of other parties, for which separate licenses are required.
The royalty conditions of the DVD player patent licensing program are the payment of an initial fee of $10,000, of which $5,000 is creditable against running royalties; plus a royalty of 3.5 percent of the net selling price of each player manufactured and sold, with a minimum of $5 per player. An additional royalty of $2.50 for each Video CD-compatible DVD-Video player will be due.
The conditions for the DVD disc patent licensing program are the payment of an initial fee of $10,000 of which $5,000 is creditable against running royalties; plus a royalty of $0.05 per DVD-Video or DVD-ROM disc manufactured and sold.
Apart from the DVD patent licensing program, Royal Philips Electronics, acting on behalf of CCETT and IRT, has started a patent licensing program for the use of their essential patents for AC-3. The conditions of this license program are: for discs a running royalty of $0.003 per disc and for players a running royalty of $0.20 per audio channel with a maximum of $0.60 per player.
The licensing programs will provide for the payment of a reasonable royalty by the users of the patent rights as a remuneration for the considerable investments in research, development and other efforts in the area of optical recording technologies, as well as in the present and future research and development of new technologies. Under the licensing program, Philips licenses the patented technologies at non-discriminatory standard terms and conditions to all interested parties.
Additional services which may also be made available to licensees include expertly developed starter kits, disc evaluation facilities, an independent format verification service and test disc sets.
Independent from this licensing program, licensees may also need to obtain additional licenses from other companies and organizations. These include, among others, the other companies of the DVD Forum, for licenses under specific patents for DVD-Video and DVD-ROM; and MPEG LA for licenses under the MPEG2 Video patents. Manufacturers seeking to obtain licenses under any of the patents referred to above should contact the relevant licensors for further information about conditions, costs and procedures to be followed.
For further information about the DVD system specifications and/or licensing conditions and requirements, prospective licensees can consult the Internet website of Philips System Standards & Licensing (S&L) at licensing.philips.com.
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of over $39 billion in 1997. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color picture tubes for televisions and monitors, and one-chip TV products. Its 256,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, medical systems, business electronics, and IT services (Origin). Philips is quoted on the NYSE, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at news.philips.com.
Pioneer Electronic Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a world leader in supplying audio and visual products for home, car and industrial use for global customers. It employs more than 19,000 people in over 25 countries and has more than 160 subsidiaries, including over 20 manufacturing companies world wide. Further information is available at Pioneer website; pioneer.co.jp.
Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, communications and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its music, pictures and computer entertainment operations make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of over $51 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998, and it employs 173,000 people worldwide. Sony's Home Page URL: sony.co.jp
SOURCE Philips Electronics, N.V.
/CONTACT: Marty Gordon of Philips Electronics, 650-846-4475, or fax,
650-846-4477; or Rinske Stege of Philips Media Relations, 31-40-27-34866,or
fax, 31-40-27-32729/
/Web site: licensing.philips.com
|
