MPEG LA Announces Call for Patents Essential to High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)

World licensing leader MPEG LA, LLC announces a call for patents essential to the High Efficiency Video Coding (“HEVC”) standard (currently HEVC Draft 7). HEVC (also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2) is intended to improve video coding efficiency for the benefit of mobile service providers and consumers; HEVC is also expected to deliver next generation higher resolution HDTV video displays for 4K and 8K Ultra High Definition TV.

“By starting the joint license facilitation process now, the market can enjoy the earliest opportunity to plan for deployment of this promising new technology,” said MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn. “MPEG LA is pleased to assist in facilitating a convenient, independently administered, one-stop patent licensing alternative to assist users with implementation of their technology choices and invites all patent holders to participate.”

In order to participate in the initial facilitation effort for the creation of a joint HEVC License, MPEG LA invites any party that believes it has patents that are essential to the HEVC Draft 7 standard (or subsequent revisions that may issue) to submit an initial patent by September 7, 2012, in accordance with terms and procedures governing patent submissions (http://www.mpegla.com/main/pid/hevc/default.aspx). HEVC Draft 7, available from the ITU-T/ISO/IEC Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC), is subject to further revisions by the JCT-VC; a final approved standard for HEVC is expected to issue around January 2013 (see http://mpeg.chiariglione.org/meetings/san_jose12/sanjose_press.htm).

Although only issued patents will be included in the license, patent applications with claims that owners believe are essential to the currently published HEVC draft standards and likely to issue in a patent also may be submitted in order to participate in the license development process.

MPEG LA, LLC

MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses. By assisting users with implementation of their technology choices, MPEG LA offers licensing solutions that create opportunities for wide adoption and fuel innovation. MPEG LA’s pioneering MPEG-2 licensing program helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history and has become the template for addressing numerous other technologies. Today MPEG LA manages licensing programs consisting of 6,000 patents in 74 countries with 159 licensors and some 5,000 licensees. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.