MPEG LA has said a group of 25 companies, including the BBC and Apple, have agreed to terms for an HEVC Patent Portfolio Licence, expected to be issued in the next few weeks.
The High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC, also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2) standard has been designed to improve video coding for internet and mobile service providers. It is also expected to deliver next generation higher resolution HDTV video displays for 4K and 8K Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV).
“As contemplated, the HEVC license will utilize a modern streamlined pool licensing approach with simple easy-to-understand terms making the technology readily accessible to the largest possiblemarket in the shortest possible time,” said MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn. “MPEG LA salutes the cooperation of patent owners who have worked hard to reach common ground in making a joint patent license available for the convenience of HEVC adopters. As a result of their efforts, consumers benefiting from a marketplace of competitive technology choices will be the clear winners.”
The full list of essential patent holders released by MPEG LA reads:
Apple Inc.
British Broadcasting Corporation
Cisco Technology, Inc.
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) of Korea
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
Hitachi Maxell, Ltd.
HUMAX Co., Ltd.
JVC KENWOOD Corporation
KT Corp.
LG Electronics Inc.
M&K Holdings Inc.
NEC Corporation
Nippon Hoso Kyokai
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
NTT DOCOMO, INC.
Orange SA
Siemens AG
SK Telecom
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
Thomson Licensing
Vidyo, Inc.
Additional Patent holders have been invited to join.
