[M4IF Discuss] PR: CableLabs® Promotes Pooling of OCAP Patents

[Daniel B. Miller]

funny, you'd think their law firm, which is taking the applications, might
have studied anti-trust law.  Apparently not.
 ___  Dan Miller
(++,) CTO and founder, On2 Technologies
On Tue, 14 May 2002, Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> CableLabs® Promotes Pooling of OCAP Patents
>
> Mike Schwartz
> 303-661-9100
> m.schwartz   cablelabs.com
>
> Louisville, Colorado, May 6, 2024 - Cable Television Laboratories,
> Inc. (CableLabs®) announced today that it will facilitate the
> formation of a patent pool for its OpenCable Application Platform
> (OCAP) digital set-top box middleware specification. The objective
> is to create a "one-stop-shop" licensing mechanism for intellectual
> property rights that may be necessary to implement the OCAP
> specification.
>
> Patent holders who believe they have patent claims essential to the
> implementation of OCAP should submit a declaration to the law firm of
> Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (see below for contact information), with
> a copy going to CableLabs. CableLabs has hired Wilmer, Cutler &
> Pickering (WCP) to independently assess the essentiality of patent
> claims with respect to implementation of the OCAP standard. WCP was
> also chosen by the European DVB Project to serve as the patent
> coordinator for the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) middleware
> specification. The OCAP specification is an adaptation of the MHP
> specification for North American cable systems.
>
> Under the arrangement with WCP, patent declarants will submit a
> $3,500 fee to WCP for each patent. For the single fee, WCP will
> assess claim essentiality for both the OCAP specification and the MHP
> specification. WCP will maintain the strictest confidentiality and
> independence when reviewing submitted declarations.
>
> When a "critical mass" of essential patent claims has been
> identified, the relevant patent holders will be invited to form a
> patent licensing pool. A license administrator for the patent pool
> will be chosen at that time. This process is similar to the process
> used by CableLabs in the successful formation of the MPEG-2 patent
> pool.
>
> It is CableLabs' strong preference that essential patent rights are
> made available on a royalty-free basis. Sun Microsystems has already
> agreed to make the required Sun Java technology available on a
> royalty-free basis. Patent holders participating in the CableLabs
> patent pool process may include a nominal royalty if offered on a
> fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory basis under the CableLabs
> OpenCable IPR Policy.
>
> Dr. Richard R. Green, President and CEO of CableLabs, said: "Now that
> the OCAP 1.0 Specification has been released, we can begin to
> identify the essential patents, and make sure that they are available
> to all OCAP implementers in an efficient manner, and on terms that
> are reasonable and non-discriminatory. As with the licensing scheme
> fostered by CableLabs for MPEG, our efforts to form a patent pool
> will serve to benefit vendors, patent holders, and consumers alike.
> The pool will also accelerate the introduction of OpenCable products
> and services into the marketplace."
>
> Additional information on the OpenCable project, including a copy of
> the OCAP Specification, may be found at www.opencable.com..
>
> CableLabs is a research and development consortium comprised of cable
> television system operators worldwide. CableLabs plans and funds
> research and development projects that will help cable companies take
> advantage of future opportunities and meet future challenges in the
> cable television industry.
>
> In addition, CableLabs acts as a clearinghouse to provide information
> on current and prospective technological developments that are of
> interest to the cable industry. CableLabs maintains web sites at
> www.cablelabs.com; www.packetcable.com; www.cablemodem.com;
> www.cablenet.org; and www.opencable.com.
>
> Patent declarations should be sent to:
>
> Wilmer Cutler & Pickering
> 2445 M Street, N.W.
> Washington, D.C. 20037-1420
> Attention: John W. Ryan or Ashok K. Mannava
> E-mail: jryan   wilmer.com or amannava   wilmer.com
>
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