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

Q:What does the 1394 Patent Portfolio License cover?
A: The 1394 Patent Portfolio License provides coverage for the 1394 standards adopted and/or published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Electrotechnical Commission denominated as IEEE 1394‑1995, IEEE P1394a (substantially in the form as published on June 30, 1999), IEC 61883‑1 and IEEE P1394b (substantially in the form as published as version “Draft 0.75,” dated August 10, 1999).

Q: Who are the essential patent holders (“Licensors”) to the 1394 Patent Portfolio License?
A: Click here.

Q: What are the obligations of the Licensors with regard to their essential 1394 Essential patents?
A: Each Licensor is under an obligation to grant to MPEG LA a worldwide, nonexclusive license under all 1394 Essential Patents that it and its Affiliates presently or in the future has the right to license or sublicense, enabling MPEG LA to grant worldwide, nonexclusive sublicenses under terms of the 1394 Patent Portfolio License

Q: What is the effect on Licensees when new patents are added to the 1394 Patent Portfolio License?
A: The royalties payable under the License do not increase or decrease because of an increase or decrease in the number of 1394 Essential Patents or because of an increase or decrease in the prices of a Licensee’s 1394 Royalty Products.  Rather, they are the value of a license granted under the Patent Portfolio taking into consideration the commercial intention of the Licensors to facilitate adoption of the 1394 Standard and make available a pool license in which royalties are the same whether one or more patents is used.  New Licensors and new patents are added at no additional cost during the current Term of the License.

Q: Are all 1394 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 1394 Patent Portfolio License?
A: Any party that believes it has patents which are essential to the 1394 Standard, and wishes to participate in the 1394 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 a 1394 user need?
A: It is up to each user to determine its own licensing needs and how it wishes to meet them. The 1394 Patent Portfolio License is provided for a user’s convenience in acquiring patent rights necessary for the 1394 Standard from multiple essential patent holders in a single transaction as an alternative to negotiating separate license agreements with individual Licensors. Users are free to negotiate directly with one or more Licensors for a separate license under one or more Essential Patents under independently negotiated terms, however. 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 (that are not essential to the 1394 standard).

Q: How is the 1394 Patent Portfolio License organized?
A. Click here for information.

Q: What is the purpose of the words “unmodified and uncombined form” in the definition of “Finished Product(s)” in Section 1.6?)
A: These words help determine the “Finished Products” covered by the License on which (see “1394 Royalty Products” defined in Section 1.15) a royalty is payable. A product is “Finished” at the point where no further modifications or combinations are made and it is made available to the end user in such form. Put another way, the point at which the last modification/combination is made is the point at which a product is “Finished,” and the Licensee that makes the last modification/combination, i.e., puts it into the form in which it is ultimately made available to the end user, is responsible for paying the applicable royalty under the License. (Thus, the definition of “Finished Product” does not mean that a Licensee is prevented from modifying or combining a product and in fact anticipates that prior modifications or combinations have been made before a product is considered “Finished.”)

Q: What are the royalties for the 1394 Patent Portfolio License?
A: Royalties apply as defined in the License. Click here for information.