Google video deal changes hardware licensing landscape
MPEG LA, the body that has so far licensed the MPEG family of technologies on behalf of patent holders, has granted Google a license to techniques that may be essential to VP8 and earlier generation VPx video compression technologies. These technologies have been patented by 11 patent holders and MPEG LA had been trying to bring them together in a patent pool.
The key is that the agreement also grants Google the right to sublicense those techniques to any user of VP8, whether the VP8 implementation is by Google or another entity. It further provides for sublicensing those VP8 techniques in one next-generation VPx video codec. As a result of the agreements, MPEG LA will discontinue its effort to form a VP8 patent pool and Google becomes a key licensing authority for video technology in both software and hardware.
“This is a significant milestone in Google’s efforts to establish VP8 as a widely-deployed web video format,” said Allen Lo, Google’s deputy general counsel for patents. “We appreciate MPEG LA’s cooperation in making this happen.”
“We are pleased for the opportunity to facilitate agreements with Google to make VP8 widely available to users,” said MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn. The group manages licensing programs consisting of nearly 8000 patents in 74 countries with more than 160 licensors and 5600 licensees.
www.mpegla.com
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