Source : Business Wire
MPEG LA Sues Alcatel Lucent for Breach of MPEG-2 Patent Pool Contractual Obligations
Denver, United States -- (Business Wire India) -- Tuesday, November 06, 2007 10:50:54 AM
MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent licenses, announced that it has commenced an action against Alcatel Lucent ("Alcatel") for breach of contractual obligations as a Licensor in MPEG LA's MPEG-2 patent pool licensing program. The suit also names Lucent Technologies, Inc. ("Lucent") and Multimedia Patent Trust (the "Trust").
According to the complaint filed in the Court of Chancery for the State of Delaware, Alcatel promised to make available to Licensees through MPEG LA's MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License all MPEG-2 essential patents which Alcatel can license or sublicense - and not take any action to subvert that commitment. But rather than abide by that promise, Alcatel and Lucent created the Trust to hold patents that Alcatel was and is required to place into the MPEG-2 License, and has taken the position that the essential MPEG-2 patents purportedly transferred to the Trust cannot be placed in the MPEG-2 License.
In fact, the patents were transferred to the Trust (in which Alcatel has 99% beneficial ownership) with Alcatel's agreement and consent, and the only purpose of the transfer was to avoid Alcatel's contractual commitment in order to extract additional royalties from MPEG-2 patent pool Licensees.
MPEG LA seeks, among other things, declaratory, injunctive and other equitable relief.
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 more than 825 MPEG-2 essential patents in 57 countries, has approximately 1,300 licensees accounting for most MPEG-2 products in the current world market. DVD videos are encoded with MPEG-2 video data, and every DVD player contains an MPEG-2 decoder. 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.
Media Contact Details
CONTACT:
MPEG LA, LLC
Tom O'Reilly
860-620-0642
Fax: 301-986-8575
toreilly@mpegla.com
CONTACT:
MPEG LA, LLC
Tom O'Reilly
860-620-0642
Fax: 301-986-8575
toreilly@mpegla.com
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