Difference between revisions of "MPEG LA"
(→A free licence for almost nobody: ==MPEG LA's patent aggression== * [http://www.twice.com/article/257658-Audiovox_Disputes_MPEG_LA_Lawsuit.php Audiovox Disputes MPEG LA Lawsuit], 26 Dec 2007, '') |
(→External links: reorganisation) |
||
| Line 49: | Line 49: | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG_LA Wikipedia: MPEG LA] | * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG_LA Wikipedia: MPEG LA] | ||
| + | * [http://ipgeek.blogspot.com/2007/02/you-thought-paying-sisvel-ended-your.html Philips also has patents on mpeg] | ||
| + | * [http://web.archive.org/web/20060612210555/http://web.media.mit.edu/~eds/mpeg-patents-faq mpeg-patents-faq ("especially for audio compression")] | ||
| + | * [http://bemasc.net/wordpress/2010/02/02/no-you-cant-do-that-with-h264/ No, you can’t do that with H.264], 2 Feb 2010, '''Ben Schwartz''' | ||
| + | * http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/MPEG_patent_status - info and links about MPEG-1 (could be used to check if this page is correct regarding MPEG-1/h.261) | ||
| + | * [http://www.betanews.com/article/10-questions-for-MPEG-LA-on-H264/1274306999 10 questions for MPEG LA on H.264], May 2010, '''Beta News''' - just ''before'' [[On2 VP8]] was released as [[free software]] by [[Google]] | ||
| + | * [http://www.osnews.com/story/23346/Nero_Files_Antitrust_Case_Against_MPEG-LA Nero Files Antitrust Case Against MPEG LA], '''OSNews''' (see also: [[Antitrust law isn't solving the problems]]) | ||
| + | ** [http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202458503025&MPEG_LA_Shrugs_Off_Antitrust_Allegations MPEG LA Shrugs Off Antitrust Allegations], May 20th 2010 | ||
| + | * [http://osindia.blogspot.com/2010/06/challenges-in-using-proprietary.html Flash Co-Creator Jonathan Gay talks of the challenges they faced in using H.264 standard], June 2010, '''OS India''' | ||
| + | * [http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2008/7/18/232618/312 Patent Status of MPEG-1,H.261 and MPEG-2], 20 July 2008, '''Josh Cogliati''' | ||
| + | * [http://lists.whatwg.org/htdig.cgi/whatwg-whatwg.org/2009-July/020737.html List of H.264 patents and expiration dates], 3 July 2009, '''Josh Cogliati''' | ||
| + | * [http://www.osnews.com/story/23735/MPEG-LA_Makes_Free_Internet_Video_Royalty_Free_Perpetually MPEG LA Makes Free Internet Video Royalty Free Perpetually], 26 Aug 2010, '''OSNews''' | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===mpegla.com=== | ||
| + | |||
* [http://www.mpegla.com/news/n_03-11-17_avc.html MpegLA announces it's consolidated patent claims over H.264], with a list at the end with 17 of the patent holders | * [http://www.mpegla.com/news/n_03-11-17_avc.html MpegLA announces it's consolidated patent claims over H.264], with a list at the end with 17 of the patent holders | ||
* [http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/Agreement.aspx MPEG LA's licensing terms] | * [http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/Agreement.aspx MPEG LA's licensing terms] | ||
* [http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/PatentList.aspx The full list of patents] | * [http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/PatentList.aspx The full list of patents] | ||
* [http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/Licensors.aspx The full list of the patent holders] | * [http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/AVC/Pages/Licensors.aspx The full list of the patent holders] | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 16:13, 31 August 2010
- (For the general video codec problem see: Audio-video patents)
MPEG LA is an organisation (which could be called a patent cartel) which holds a collection of software patents which it claims are essential for the implementation of MPEG video formats including H.264. MPEG LA is in no way affiliated with the MPEG standards group.
MPEG LA lists over 1,000 patents, held by 29 companies[1] divided between 57 countries which they claim are necessary to implement MPEG video formats.[2]
MPEG LA's patents are the reason H.264 was excluded from the HTML5 specification.
Contents
Details of their patent thickets
MPEG LA is the licensing authority for a thicket of over 1,000 patents, held by 29 companies. MPEG LA claims that 1,000 of these patents must be licensed in order to use the common H.264 video format.[3] which it claims are requried for use of MPEG video formats. The holders of these patents include Columbia University, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute of Korea (ETRI), France Télécom, Fujitsu, LG Electronics, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Philips, Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, and Victor Company of Japan (JVC).[4] The last MPEG LA listed patents don't expire until 2028 in the US.[5]
As of February 2010, MPEG LA lists 639 companies which are paying this patent tax.[6]
Microsoft is both a large owner, with 75 patents in this pool, and is also a large licensee, paying about twice as much to MPEG LA as they receive in royalties.[7]
MPEG LA's patent aggression
- Audiovox Disputes MPEG LA Lawsuit, 26 Dec 2007, Twice.com
- MPEG LA Lawsuit Against Alcatel Lucent Settled, 29 Mar 2009, MPEG LA PR
- MPEG LA Sues Apex Digital, Inc. for Breach of MPEG-2 License Agreement; Apex Fails to Pay..., 8 Aug 2002, AllBusiness
- Patent Litigation Weekly: MobileMedia's Unusual Patent Infringement Campaign, 19 Apr 2010, Pat Lit Weekly (MPEG LA owns "MobileMedia")
A free licence for almost nobody
In August 2010, MPEG LA announced that they would not use their patents against people distributing video non-commercially over the Internet.[8][9]
However, this does not permit the distribution of software to play or create videos,[10] and would not apply to a webpage with ads.[11]
MPEG LA isn't the only group you have to pay
AT&T[12] and Philips[13], both claim to have further patents required for implementations of MPEG video.
It is also possible that other patent holders are preparing a patent ambush.
Avoiding H.264
Campaigns to avoid H.264 generally focus on encouraging the use the Ogg Theora video format and, recently, on the WebM format.
Another possibility is to use software from 20 years ago, such as the ITU h.261 video format, some parts of which were defined in, or before, November 1988[1]. The 1988 spec had parts that were not defined. The 1990 H.261 spec filled in these parts[2].
Related pages on ESP Wiki
External links
- Wikipedia: MPEG LA
- Philips also has patents on mpeg
- mpeg-patents-faq ("especially for audio compression")
- No, you can’t do that with H.264, 2 Feb 2010, Ben Schwartz
- http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/MPEG_patent_status - info and links about MPEG-1 (could be used to check if this page is correct regarding MPEG-1/h.261)
- 10 questions for MPEG LA on H.264, May 2010, Beta News - just before On2 VP8 was released as free software by Google
- Nero Files Antitrust Case Against MPEG LA, OSNews (see also: Antitrust law isn't solving the problems)
- MPEG LA Shrugs Off Antitrust Allegations, May 20th 2010
- Flash Co-Creator Jonathan Gay talks of the challenges they faced in using H.264 standard, June 2010, OS India
- Patent Status of MPEG-1,H.261 and MPEG-2, 20 July 2008, Josh Cogliati
- List of H.264 patents and expiration dates, 3 July 2009, Josh Cogliati
- MPEG LA Makes Free Internet Video Royalty Free Perpetually, 26 Aug 2010, OSNews
mpegla.com
- MpegLA announces it's consolidated patent claims over H.264, with a list at the end with 17 of the patent holders
- MPEG LA's licensing terms
- The full list of patents
- The full list of the patent holders
References
- ↑ http://lwn.net/Articles/371751/
- ↑ http://www.mpegla.com/Lists/MPEG%20LA%20News%20List/Attachments/226/n-10-02-02.pdf
- ↑ http://lwn.net/Articles/371751/
- ↑ http://www.mpegla.com/news/n_03-11-17_avc.html
- ↑ http://lists.whatwg.org/pipermail/whatwg-whatwg.org/2009-July/020737.html
- ↑ http://www.mpegla.com/main/programs/M4V/Pages/Licensees.aspx
- ↑ http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2010/05/03/follow-up-on-html5-video-in-ie9.aspx Microsoft receives back from MPEG LA less than half the amount for the patent rights that it contributes
- ↑ http://www.mpegla.com/Lists/MPEG%20LA%20News%20List/Attachments/231/n-10-08-26.pdf
- ↑ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100825006629/en
- ↑ http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2010/08/hold-the-h264-celebrations/index.htm
- ↑ http://www.osnews.com/story/23735/MPEG-LA_Makes_Free_Internet_Video_Royalty_Free_Perpetually
- ↑ http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/04/know-your-rights-h-264-patent-licensing-and-you/
- ↑ http://ipgeek.blogspot.com/2007/02/you-thought-paying-sisvel-ended-your.html
