Via Licensing Corporation and MPEG LA have announced plans to combine into a single patent pool, known as Via LA.
Patent pools are often defined as an agreement between two or more patent owners to license one or more of their patents to one another or to third parties. Within the digital TV sector they help with the standardisation of components.
Via LA will now consolidate several patent pools across a broad range of technologies into a single organisation. Affiliates of General Electric, Philips and Mitsubishi will convert their partial ownership in MPEG LA to partial ownership in Via LA.
“Via LA combines the best capabilities in the licensing industry to deliver efficient, transparent, and balanced intellectual property solutions to thousands of partners around the world,” said Heath Hoglund, President, Via LA. “This pool of pools provides an efficient mechanism for innovators with broad portfolios to get their technologies to the mass market and enables easy access to a broad range of necessary IP for implementors with diverse product offerings.”
“Our two teams share similar strategies, cultures, and business models, so I am confident this will be a smooth transition into an even more valuable, independently managed licensing solution for the IP industry,” said Larry Horn, CEO, MPEG LA.
Heath Hoglund, who was President of Via prior to the combination, will serve as President of Via LA. Larry Horn is retiring as CEO of MPEG LA, but will continue to serve as an advisor to Via LA.
