December
2, 2002
MPEG-4 Audio Licensing
Committee Selects Via
Licensing Corporation as Administrator
MPEG-4 Audio Licensing Committee finalizing
terms for Audio Profile licensing
San Francisco, December
2, 2002— Members of the MPEG-4 Audio Licensing
Committee have announced the selection of Via
Licensing Corporation as the Licensing Administrator
for the MPEG-4 Audio patent pool. This development
will hasten the availability of standard licensing
agreements for patents essential to MPEG-4 Audio
technologies.
MPEG Audio technologies are familiar to users
around the world. MPEG-1 Layer 3, otherwise
known as MP3, provides an excellent example
of the value of an open and interoperable standard
in the creation of new applications and markets.
The most recent MPEG standard, MPEG-4, doesn't
define a single audio coding scheme, but rather
a rich set of technologies addressing a range
of different applications and covering a spectrum
of bit-rate, scalability, and audio quality
requirements. The goal of the MPEG-4 Audio Licensing
Committee is to provide one-stop access to patents
from multiple parties that are necessary for
the practice of MPEG-4 Audio under fair, reasonable,
and nondiscriminatory conditions.
The MPEG-4 Audio standard is organized so that
various audio tools, or coding approaches, are
assembled into Audio Objects that are further
combined into multiple MPEG-4 Audio Profiles.
The work of the MPEG-4 Audio Licensing Committee
was initiated by the MPEG-4 Industry Forum (M4IF)
with a request that patent holders develop licensing
terms for three MPEG-4 Audio Profiles: the High
Quality Audio Profile, the Speech Audio Profile,
and the Mobile Audio Internetworking ("MAUI")
Profile.
In addition to these three profiles, members
of the Licensing Committee are working with
Via Licensing Corporation to create essential
patent license agreements for those Audio Objects
that are of interest to the market on a stand-alone
basis.
According to Ramzi Haidamus, general manager,
Via Licensing Corporation, "The MPEG-4
Audio standard is quite complex and still evolving
today. Numerous industries look to MPEG for
fundamental media technologies, and our aim
is to provide access to the technology in those
combinations that are sought by its users. As
the standard evolves and the market's understanding
of the technology matures, Via Licensing will
remain responsive to the needs of both licensees
and licensors in developing patent license packages
that make business sense."
The specific technologies comprising the MPEG-4
Audio Profiles to be covered by the initial
licenses are: Speech Audio Profile-CELP, HVXC,
TTSI , High Quality Audio Profile-AAC LC, AAC
LTP, AAC Scalable, CELP, ER AAC LC, ER AAC LTP,
ER AAC Scalable, ER CELP ,Mobile Audio Internetworking
Profile-ER AAC LC, ER AAC Scalable, ER TwinVQ,
ER BSAC, ER AAC LD Member companies of the MPEG-4
Audio Licensing Committee own essential patents
in these MPEG-4 Audio Profiles. The members
include AT&T; Dolby Laboratories; Electronics
and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI);
France Télécom; Fraunhofer IIS;
Fujitsu Limited; NEC Corporation; Nokia Corporation;
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT);
Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.; Sony Corporation; and VoiceAge Corporation.
These companies have been meeting over the course
of the past year in order to develop licensing
models and terms and conditions for access to
essential MPEG-4 Audio patent rights.
The Licensing Committee expects to deliver MPEG-4
Audio Profile license agreements in the first
quarter of 2003.
For more information about MPEG-4 Audio, please
visit the Via Licensing Corporation website
at www.vialicensing.com or contact info@vialicensing.com.
About MPEG-4 Audio
The MPEG-4 Audio standard consists of a variety
of audio coding technologies ranging from speech
coding (HVXC, CELP), general audio coding (AAC,
TwinVQ, BSAC), a Text-To-Speech Interface (TTSI),
and numerous additional audio synthesis and
coding techniques. MPEG-4 Audio Profiles define
combinations of these audio tools aimed at particular
application targets. Further information about
MPEG-4 can be found at the MPEG website, mpeg.telecomitalialab.com,
and at the website of the MPEG-4 Industry Forum,
www.m4if.org. About Via Licensing Corporation.
Via Licensing Corporation,
a subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, develops
and administers patent licensing programs or
patent pools on behalf of innovative technology
companies. Though functionally independent of
Dolby's other operations, Via Licensing benefits
from the technical expertise and strategic business
relationships that Dolby has developed in more
than 30 years of licensing into the consumer
electronics and personal computing markets.
Based in San Francisco, with its offices located
at 999 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103,
Via Licensing's staff includes experts in intellectual
property law, technology standardization, strategic
business development, and program administration.
Affiliated specialists in the fields of finance,
antitrust law, and patent analysis complete
the set of capabilities that make Via Licensing
a premier service provider to companies and
organizations seeking patent licensing administration
services. Dolby is a registered trademark of
Dolby Laboratories. All other trademarks remain
the property of their respective owners.
For additional information
contact:
Jim Arnold
Director of Public Relations
Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
+1.415.645.5116
jja@dolby.com
