2nd May 2003
Geneva–1st May 2003 – The
DVB Project announced today that it has extended the work of the DVB
patent coordinator to include an assessment of its recently adopted
specification for the Globally Executable MHP. The work of the
coordinator, Sughrue Mion PLLC, will now encompass the DVB’s MHP
specification, the OCAP specification of CableLabs, and the GEM
specification. DVB, together with CableLabs and Sughrue, held a first
meeting for potential declarants and other interested parties to
discuss the pooling process in Geneva, Switzerland last week on the
fringes of the DVB’s steering board.
The patent coordinator’s work is to review
declarations made of patents essential to these and other DVB
specifications. It is the first step in a process leading to the
formation of a patent pool covering these standards. The objective is
to create efficient access to the intellectual property rights
necessary for implementation and offered on terms fair, reasonable and
non-discriminatory. Holders of IPRs essential to a DVB specification
should make their declarations as promptly as possible to Sughrue Mion.
Carter Eltzroth, Legal Director DVB, stated, “DVB
is pleased with the number and quality of declarations to date and the
addition of GEM to the work will add momentum. New declarants will be
joining the seven declarants to date (representing 45 patents) and
other important rights holders across the consumer electronic and
software communities. I look forward to closing this initial phase of
the patent pooling process later this year.”
Sughrue as independent
patent specialist will assess the declarations submitted. Based on the
conclusions drawn from that assessment, those holding essential IPR in
each specification will be invited to consider forming a licensing
programme. The economic terms of that programme, and the choice of
licensing administrator, remain a decision of the participants in each
licensing programme.
Alan Kasper, partner at Sughrue Mion, stated,
“Our Geneva meeting was the first of several to explain the pooling
process, our role in assessing the declarations, and our methodology.
I look forward to the next meetings with other potential licensees and
interested parties.” Meetings are tentatively scheduled to occur
during the NCTA in Chicago in early June, in East Asia, and at the IBC
in Amsterdam in mid-September.
Holders of IPRs essential to the implementation of a DVB standard
are invited to identify their rights by submitting the attached
Statement of Declarant (available also at www.mhp.org) and a per-patent
submission fee of $3,500 USD to:
DVB Patent Pool Coordinator
c/o Alan J Kasper, Esq
Sughrue Mion PLLC
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20037-3213
U.S.A
T: +1 202 293 7060
E: akasper@sughrue.com
Download the complete press release and "Statement of Declarant"
