Enforcement of MPEG-2 Infringement Verdicts Proceeds Against DVD Disc Manufacturer ODS.

DENVER -- With the posting of security bonds earlier this week, several patent holders enforced verdicts in the German District court (Landgericht Dusseldorf) cases finding that DVD disc manufacturer Optical Disc Service ("ODS") infringed patents licensed in the MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License offered by MPEG LA, and enforcement of additional verdicts is expected. See http://www.mpegla.com/news/n_06-11-30_pr.pdf. As a result, although the verdicts can be appealed, ODS must cease and desist its current DVD production, which uses the enforced patents, and pay damages to the patent owners for past DVD production.

The MPEG-2 Standard is the core technology underlying the efficient creation, transmission, storage and display of digitized moving images and sound tracks on which DVD and other digital technologies are based; and the DVD-Video Standard (DVD Specifications for Read-Only Disc, Part 3: VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS) requires DVD Video discs to contain information formatted in accordance with the MPEG-2 Standard.

MPEG LA, LLC 

MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses, enabling users to acquire worldwide patent rights necessary for a technology standard or platform from multiple patent holders in a single transaction as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. Wherever an independently administered one-stop patent license would provide a convenient marketplace alternative to assist users with implementation of their technology choices, the licensing model pioneered and employed by MPEG LA may provide a solution. Among MPEG LA's licenses is one for MPEG-2 digital video compression that has helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history. The MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License, which includes approximately 800 MPEG-2 essential patents in 57 countries, has more than 1000 licensees accounting for most MPEG-2 products, including an estimated 90% of all DVD discs, in the current world market. MPEG LA is an independent licensing administrator; it is not related to any standards agency and is not an affiliate of any patent holder. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.