FAQ

Please email any questions you have to our Q&A Department.

Q: What does the AVC Patent Portfolio License cover?
A: The AVC Patent Portfolio License provides coverage under AVC Patent Portfolio Patents for the AVC Standard as initially defined in ISO/IEC IS 14496-10 and any subsequent version or extension of this video standard (including, for example, the Fidelity Range Extensions) to the extent posted at http://www.mpegla.com/avc/avc-agreement.cfm.

Q: Who are the essential patent holders (“Licensors”) to the AVC Patent Portfolio License?
A: The AVC Patent Portfolio License currently includes essential patents owned by DAEWOO Electronics Corporation; Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute; France Télécom, société anonyme*; Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.; Fujitsu Limited; Hitachi, Ltd.; Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.; LG Electronics Inc.; Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.; Microsoft Corporation; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; NTT DoCoMo, Inc.; Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation; Robert Bosch GmbH**; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Scientific-Atlanta Vancouver Company; Sedna Patent Services, LLC; Sharp Corporation; Siemens AG; Sony Corporation; The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York; Toshiba Corporation; and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.

Q: What are the obligations of the Licensors with regard to their essential AVC Essential patents?
A: Each Licensor is under an obligation to grant to MPEG LA a worldwide, nonexclusive license under all AVC Essential Patents that it has the right to license or sublicense without payment to any third party, allowing MPEG LA to grant worldwide, nonexclusive sublicenses under such patents under terms of the AVC Patent Portfolio License.

Q: What is the effect on Licensees when new patents are added to the AVC Patent Portfolio License?
A: New Licensors and new patents are added at no additional cost during the current Term of the License. Licensees enjoy coverage under all patents from the effective date (August 1, 2002) forward.

Q: Are all AVC essential patents included?
A: No assurance is or can be made that the License includes every essential patent. The purpose of the License is to offer a convenient licensing alternative to everyone on the same terms and to include as much essential intellectual property as possible for their convenience. Participation in the License is voluntary on the part of essential patent holders, however.

Q: How may a patent holder become a Licensor to the AVC Patent Portfolio License?
A: Any party that believes it has patents which are essential to the AVC Standard, and wishes to participate in the AVC Patent Portfolio License upon successful evaluation, is invited to submit them for evaluation and inclusion. Click here to request a copy of the terms and procedures governing the patent submission process.

Q: How many licenses does an AVC user need?
A: It is up to each user to determine its own licensing needs and how it wishes to meet them. The AVC Patent Portfolio License is provided for a user’s convenience in acquiring patent rights necessary for the AVC Standard from multiple essential patent holders in a single transaction rather than electing its option to negotiate separate license agreements with individual essential patent holders. But, users have the right to separately negotiate a license with any and all of the essential patent holders under any and all of the essential patents under terms to be independently negotiated by each. In addition, as discussed above, users who take MPEG LA’s license may have to negotiate licenses for essential patents that are not included. A license also may be necessary for other important patents (which are not essential to the AVC standard) that may be used.

Q: How is the AVC Patent Portfolio License organized?
A. Please refer to a summary of the License terms.

Q: What are the royalties for the AVC Patent Portfolio License?
A: Please refer to a summary of the License terms.

Q: Do the same licensing terms apply to all profiles of the AVC/H.264 Standard?
A: Yes, the same terms apply whether one or more profiles is used.

Q: What is the Term of the AVC Patent Portfolio License?
A: The initial term runs through December 31, 2010. The License is renewable for successive five year periods for the useful life of any Portfolio patent on reasonable terms and conditions.

Q: Is there a limitation on the amount that royalty rates may increase at each renewal?
A: If royalty rates were to increase, they will not increase by more than 10% at each renewal for specific license grants (except Internet Broadcast AVC Video, which is provided for in Section 3.1.5 of the License).