Google and MPEG LA announce agreement covering VP8 video format

Business Wire via ITWeb,

Denver, 07 Mar 2013

Google and MPEG LA announced today that they have entered into agreements granting Google a licence to techniques that may be essential to VP8 and earlier-generation VPx video compression technologies under patents owned by 11 patent holders. The agreements also grant Google the right to sub-license those techniques to any user of VP8, whether the VP8 implementation is by Google or another entity. It further provides for sub-licensing those VP8 techniques in one next-generation VPx video codec. As a result of the agreements, MPEG LA will discontinue its effort to form a VP8 patent pool.

"This is a significant milestone in Google's efforts to establish VP8 as a widely deployed Web video format," said Allen Lo, Google's deputy general counsel for patents. "We appreciate MPEG LA's co-operation in making this happen."

"We are pleased for the opportunity to facilitate agreements with Google to make VP8 widely available to users," said MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn.

MPEG LA

MPEG LA is the world's leading independent provider of patent licences offering wide access to important technologies. MPEG LA developed modern day patent pools. By assisting users with implementation of their technology choices, MPEG LA offers licensing solutions that create opportunities for wide adoption and fuel innovation. MPEG LA's original licence for digital video compression helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history. It has become the template for addressing patent thickets. Today, MPEG LA manages licensing programmes consisting of nearly 8 000 patents in 74 countries with more than 160 licensors and 5 600 licensees. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.

Google

Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google's innovations in Web search and advertising have made its Web site a top Internet property and its brand one of the most recognised in the world.

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