Is
your replication company paying royalties?
Over the last couple of years there have been whisperings
in the CD and DVD industry of companies involved
in the manufacture of optical discs not paying royalties
due on the discs they produce. It is believed these
manufacturers gain an unfair commercial advantage
by being able to charge below market rates.
What are these royalties?
The technology and processes behind disc manufacture
are very complex and many patents were taken out
by those who had a part in the development - companies
such as Philips, Sony, Mitsubishi and Samsung. Licences
to use technology covered by these patents are granted
to organisations wishing to manufacture discs, and
a small payment - a royalty - is due to the patent
holders for each disc made.
What happens if royalties aren't paid?
The patent holders will investigate and if a patent
infringement is found they are entitled to recover
their costs as well as any outstanding royalties
owed.
Could this affect me?
If it is not possible to recover the costs from
the manufacturing plant, the investigators could
follow the chain back to whichever company placed
the order to recover the royalties.
A high profile case has recently ended up in a German
court. On 30th November 2006 it was found that one
of the largest pressing houses in Europe had infringed
certain patents in the MPEG-2
Patent Portfolio License. As a result they have
been sentenced to "cease and desist its current
DVD production and to pay damages to the patent
owners for past DVD production". What this
means for their customers we can't be sure, but
it's a situation best avoided!
So, if you are having discs pressed in any volume,
be sure that you are buying from a reputable source
(all of our pressed media is manufactured by Sony
- so you will all be OK!). If you are moving to
a new supplier and find your costs are 'extremely
competitive', just remember to keep the royalty
issue in the back of your mind otherwise it may
come back and bite you!
Further info:
> MPEG
LA News Release 30-11-2006 (PDF, 21KB)
|
