VIZIO buys MPEG-2 license, ends lawsuits against it
updated 04:05 pm EST, Tue November 18, 2008
VIZIO buys MPEG-2 license
Reseller of consolidated patent license portfolios MPEG LA on Monday announced flat panel HDTV maker VIZIO has entered into an MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License with the company. As a direct result of the new agreement, a few other clients of MPEG LA with essential MPEG-2 patents have dropped their lawsuits against VIZIO. Filed in the summer of 2008 in New York, the lawsuits allege VIZIO failed to enter into a licensing agreement for MPEG-2 video compression technology necessary for its HDTVs.
At the time, on June 5th, just three days after the filing of the lawsuits, VIZIO said it believed the MPEG-2 patents held by its suppliers extended to its products. It expected to defend itself in court, with cooperation from the same suppliers. The lawsuits were filed by VIZIO's competitors, with Mitsubishi, Sony, Samsung and Philips as the plaintiffs, among other companies.
