[M4IF Discuss] What the??

[Rob Koenen]

> We believe that patent pooling is unlawful as well as not 
> conducive to competition.  

Competition already exists, with or without MPEG-4. MPEG-4 needs to 
compete to several alternative proprietary solutions. Many 
prospective licensees believe that pooling is a must in order for 
MPEG-4 to be able to stand a chance in this competition. They are of 
the opinion that obtaining separate licenses from all the individual 
patent owners (20+) is only theoretical option, never a practical one. 
M4IF believes this too.
M4IF is also of the opinion that the more pools there are for the 
same IP, the better. M4IF has adopted multiple resolutions to this 
effect. (They are all online by the way, see 
http://www.m4if.org/public/index.php?sub=m4if)
M4IF also believes that an interoperable ecosystem fosters 
competition between many technology providers, and moreover, 
creates an environment in which they have a reason to exist 
to begin with. 
Without MPEG-4 many smaller companies have little reason to exist. 
With a standard like MPEG-4, they can plug into the ecosystem, 
fill their niche, and be successful contenders. 
See e.g. http://www.m4if.org/resources/smw02/koenen.pdf
Creating this environment that encourages competition between many
requires easy access to licenses for its essential patents.
The last M4IF meeting confirmed that the licenses need to be 
Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (RAND) in *all* of MPEG-4's 
markets. The meeting also agreed that "reasonable" implies
"competitive", as in "allows competitive MPEG-4 products and 
services to be built and offered".
See http://www.m4if.org/public/documents/vault/m4-out-20017.php
Kind Regards,
Rob