DENVER--()--MPEG LA announced today that Aldi Süd and affiliates (“Aldi Süd”) have entered into MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio Licenses with MPEG LA. Under the Licenses, Aldi Süd is responsible for paying royalties on its own branded MPEG-2 products.
As a result of this agreement, several companies that license their essential MPEG-2 patents through MPEG LA have settled their patent enforcement actions against Aldi Süd before the District Court Düsseldorf, Germany.
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 owners in a single transaction as an alternative to negotiating individual 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. By balancing patent users’ interest in reasonable access with patent owners’ interest in reasonable return, MPEG LA creates the opportunity for adoption of new technologies and fuels innovation. MPEG LA’s initial licensing program for MPEG-2 digital video compression helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history, and the MPEG LA® Licensing Model has become the template for addressing other technologies. Today MPEG LA manages licensing programs consisting of 6000 patents in 74 countries with 159 licensors and some 5000 licensees. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.