[M4IF Technotes] RE: [M4IF News] Press Release Licensing Additional Visual Profiles

Manish Singhal manish.singhal ittiam.com
Thu Nov 15 09:57:01 EST 2001


Rob
Couple of questions:
- Suppose one buys any particular version of the standard, let us say
MPEG-4 Visual Version 2. Then it is upgraded to include FGS etc, then
one has to again pay ~250 CHF to get that extension ?  Shouldn't there
be an upgrade only pricing ?
- Does the following announcement mean that the standard as well as the
conformance bitstreams are available to be purchased ?
Rgds
Manish Singhal
Manager, Video & Imaging
Ittiam Systems
Bangalore, India.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rob Koenen [mailto:rkoenen   intertrust.com]
> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2023 5:44 AM
> To: M4IF news (E-mail); M4IF Patent WGs (E-mail); Open DTV (E-mail);
> MPEG General (E-mail)
> Cc: Larry Horn (E-mail); Kenneth Rubenstein (E-mail)
> Subject: [M4IF News] Press Release Licensing Additional 
> Visual Profiles
> 
> 
> People,
> 
> The following release marks the start of a process that will 
> enable joint licensing of essential patents in 3 more MPEG-4 
> Visual Profiles:
>  * Simple Scalable
>  * Advanced Simple
>  * Fine Granular Scalability (FGS)
> 
> This is in addition to the following Profiles, for which licensing is 
> slated to start in 2 months:
>  * Simple
>  * Core
> 
> - Advanced Simple, a superset of Simple, has the latest coding 
>   effiency tools in MPEG-4, and supports rectangular video objects.
> - Simple Scalable and FGS are scalable extensions of Simple 
>   (Simple is the base layer). 
>   FGS can also be used with Advanced Simple as a base layer.
> - Core is a superset of Simple, adding B frames ('B-VOPs') and 
>   arbitrary-shape objects.
> 
> This is an important milestone towards further deployment of MPEG-4 
> technology.
> 
> Kind Regards,
> 
> 
> Rob Koenen (President M4IF)
> (I apologize for duplicate mails through multiiple reflectors)
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------
> -
> For Immediate Release					
> 
> CONTACT:
> Lawrence Horn, MPEG LA, LLC
> 301.986.6660 
> 301.986.8575 Fax
> lhorn   mpegla.com
> 
> 
> 
> MPEG LA® Announces M4IF Plan for Joint Licensing of Essential 
> MPEG-4 Patents
> 
> (Denver, Colorado, US-14 November 2001) - The MPEG-4 Industry 
> Forum (M4IF)
> has recommended that MPEG LA, LLC make the following 
> worldwide announcement:
> 
> In furtherance of its plan aimed at providing fair, reasonable,
> nondiscriminatory worldwide access under one license to 
> patents that are
> essential for implementing the international MPEG-4 Visual 
> Standard, the
> MPEG-4 Industry Forum (M4IF) has recommended that MPEG LA, 
> LLC, in its role
> as Evaluation Administrator, call for the submission of patents for
> evaluation of their essentiality to additional MPEG-4 Visual Standard
> profiles, specifically Simple Scalable, Advanced Simple, and Fine
> Granularity Scalable.
> 
> The Simple Scalable profile is generally described in ISO/IEC
> 14496-2:1999/AMD.1:2000(E) Tables 9-1 and 9-2 (pages 322 and 
> 324).  The
> Advanced Simple and Fine Granularity Scalable profiles are generally
> described in ISO/IEC 14496-2:2001/AMD.2(E) Tables AMD2-13 and 
> AMD2-14. These
> latter tables can be found in the ISO document N3904, also 
> styled "ISO/IEC
> 14496-1:2001/FDAM2" (pages 32-33).
> Following is a summary of the approved plan:
> 
> 1. Objective
> 
> To establish a portfolio of essential worldwide patents that 
> are necessary
> for implementation of the MPEG-4 Visual (Simple Scalable, 
> Advanced Simple,
> and Fine Grain Scalability) standard in order to provide all 
> MPEG-4 Visual
> users with fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to this 
> technology
> under one license.
> 
> 2. Licensed patents
> 
> Essential patents will consist of those that are necessary 
> for the Simple
> Scalable (ISO/IEC 14496-2:1999/AMD.1:2000(E) Tables 9-1 and 
> 9-2 [pages 322
> and 324]), Advanced Simple and Fine Granularity Scalable (ISO/IEC
> 14496-2:2001/AMD.2(E) Tables AMD2-13 and AMD2-14, which can 
> be found in the
> ISO document N3904, also styled "ISO/IEC 14496-1:2001/FDAM2" 
> [pages 32-33])
> profiles of the MPEG-4 Visual Standard. 
> 
> 3. Organization
> 
> The joint patent portfolio license may require at least three 
> functions:
> 
> First, an Administrative Committee consisting of 
> representatives of the
> essential patent owners will meet to consider licensing terms 
> and conditions
> and monitor certain activities of a Licensing Administrator.  
> 
> Second, the Licensing Administrator, who is granted non-exclusive
> sublicensing rights from patent owners under licensed 
> patents, actively
> promotes the licensing program and distributes collected 
> royalties to the
> patent owners.  The Licensing Administrator will be chosen by 
> the initial
> group of patent holders comprising the Administrative Committee.
> 
> Third, an Evaluator who is a neutral, third party patent expert will
> evaluate patents for essentiality to the Simple Scalable (ISO/IEC
> 14496-2:1999/AMD.1:2000(E) Tables 9-1 and 9-2 [pages 322 and 
> 324]), Advanced
> Simple and Fine Granularity Scalable (ISO/IEC 
> 14496-2:2001/AMD.2(E) Tables
> AMD2-13 and AMD2-14, which can be found in the ISO document 
> N3904, also
> styled "ISO/IEC 14496-1:2001/FDAM2" [pages 32-33]) profiles 
> of the MPEG-4
> Visual Standard.  Any party that believes it has essential patents is
> invited to submit them for evaluation and inclusion.  For each patent
> submitted, an evaluation fee of US $8,500.00 will be paid to 
> MPEG LA, LLC
> (as below) to cover costs of the patent expert's evaluation.
> 
> Members of the Administrative Committee will be determined by 
> the results of
> the patent essentiality evaluation. 
> 
> 4. Licensing details
> 
> To be determined by the Administrative Committee consisting of
> representatives of the essential patent owners.
> 5. Extension of the scope of the licensed patents
> 
> On M4IF's recommendation and request, MPEG LA® earlier called for the
> submission of patents for an evaluation of their essentiality to the
> normative part of the Simple and Core profiles of the MPEG-4 
> Visual Standard
> by an independent patent expert, and is currently 
> facilitating the efforts
> of essential patent owners to develop a joint license providing fair,
> reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to their essential intellectual
> property.
> 
> 6. Schedule (Initial Plan)
> 
> Initial patent submissions:  by March 1, 2024 (although 
> patent submissions
> may continue to be submitted after that date, owners of 
> essential patents in
> the initial group of patents submitted by the March 1 date 
> will form the
> initial group of Licensors and Administrative Committee that 
> will select a
> Licensing Administrator and determine the terms of license).
> 
> Evaluation:  March - June 2002
> 
> Upon the above consensus, M4IF recommended that MPEG LA® make 
> this worldwide
> announcement.
> 
> Accordingly, MPEG LA® hereby announces that any company which 
> believes it
> has patents that are essential to the Simple Scalable, 
> Advanced Simple and
> Fine Granularity Scalable profiles of the MPEG-4 Visual Standard (as
> described above) and wishes to join the patent pool upon successful
> evaluation is invited to submit such patents to the Evaluator 
> (identified
> below) by March 1, 2002, together with a statement confirming 
> its agreement
> with the objectives and intention to abide by terms and 
> procedures governing
> the patent submission process. Terms and procedures governing patent
> submissions may be obtained from Lawrence A. Horn, Vice 
> President, Licensing
> and Business Development, MPEG LA, LLC (lhorn   mpegla.com, phone
> 1-301-986-6660, fax 1-301-986-8575).
> 
> Evaluator:
> 
> Dr. Kenneth Rubenstein
> PROSKAUER ROSE LLP
> 1585 Broadway
> New York, NY10036-8299
> Tel. 212-969-3000
> Fax. 212-969-2900
> krubenstein   proskauer.com <mailto:krubenstein   proskauer.com> 
> 
> #   #   #
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Overview of the MPEG-4 Standard
> 
> MPEG-4 is an ISO/IEC multi-media representation standard 
> developed by its
> Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).  MPEG also developed 
> MPEG-1, which
> makes possible interactive video on CD-ROM and is present on 
> virtually every
> personal computer, and MPEG-2, the core compression 
> technology underlying
> the efficient transmission, storage and display of digitized 
> moving images
> and sound tracks on which high definition television (HDTV), 
> Digital Video
> Broadcasting (DVB), direct broadcast by satellite (DBS), digital cable
> television systems, multichannel-multipoint distribution 
> services (MMDS),
> personal computer video, digital versatile discs (DVD), 
> interactive media
> and other forms of digital video delivery, storage, transport 
> and display
> are based.  
> 
> MPEG-4 is the result of yet another international effort 
> involving hundreds
> of researchers and engineers from all over the world.  Building on the
> successes of MPEG's earlier standards, MPEG-4 enables 
> integration of the
> production, distribution and content access features of 
> digital television,
> interactive graphics applications and interactive multimedia 
> across internet
> protocol, wireless, low bitrate, broadcast, satellite, cable 
> and mobile
> environments.  With MPEG-4, all content elements can be maintained as
> discrete objects enabling richer interactivity and use across 
> many different
> devices   More information about MPEG-4 can be found at 
> MPEG's home page
> <http://mpeg.telecomitalialab.com> and at the home page of the MPEG-4
> Industry Forum <http://www.m4if.org/>. 
> 
> MPEG-4 Industry Forum (M4IF)
> 
> While M4IF recommended that MPEG LA® take the steps as 
> described in this
> release, all steps described herein are carried out outside and
> independently of M4IF.  M4IF encourages all and any steps 
> that will lead to
> easy access to reasonable and non-discriminatory licenses for patents
> essential to the MPEG-4 Standard.
> 
> The M4IF was organized on May 29, 2024 as a not-for-profit 
> corporation "To
> further the adoption and widespread use of the MPEG-4 Standard, by
> establishing MPEG-4 as an accepted standard among application 
> developers,
> service providers, content creators and end users." Based in 
> Switzerland,
> M4IF is open to all parties that support this goal and pay the yearly
> membership fee of (US) $3,000.  M4IF carries on activities outside of
> ISO/IEC's scope, such as:
> 
> *	Promoting the MPEG-4 Standard, and serving as a single point of
> information on MPEG-4 technology, products and services;
> *	Initiating discussions leading to the potential establishment of
> patent portfolios outside of M4IF in order to grant licenses to all
> applicants throughout the world under reasonable terms and 
> conditions that
> are demonstrably free of any unfair competition;
> *	Organization of MPEG-4 exhibitions and tutorials;
> *	Carrying out interoperability tests. 
> 
> Since its official establishment, over 100 companies have 
> joined the Forum.
> 
> 
> MPEG LA, LLC
> 
> MPEG LA* successfully pioneered one-stop technology standards 
> licensing,
> starting with a portfolio of essential patents for the 
> international digital
> video compression standard known as MPEG-2, which it began 
> licensing in
> 1997.  One-stop technology standards licensing enables widespread
> technological implementation, interoperability and use of fundamental
> broad-based technologies covered by many patents owned by 
> many different
> patent holders.  MPEG LA* provides users with fair, reasonable,
> nondiscriminatory access to these essential patents on a 
> worldwide basis
> under a single license.  The MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License now has
> approximately 350 licensees and includes almost 400 MPEG-2 
> essential patents
> owned by 19 patent holders.  As the legal and business 
> template for one-stop
> technology standards licensing, MPEG LA* also provides an 
> innovative way to
> achieve fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to patent 
> rights for
> other technology standards - the high-speed transfer digital 
> interconnect
> standard known as IEEE 1394 and the terrestrial digital 
> television standard
> used in Europe and Asia known as DVB-T.  In addition, MPEG 
> LA® has been
> asked to facilitate the development of joint licenses for 
> MPEG-4 and other
> emerging technologies.  The company is based in Denver, CO 
> and has offices
> in Chevy Chase, MD (Washington DC metropolitan area), the greater San
> Francisco area and London, England.  For more information, 
> please refer to
> <http://www.mpegla.com/>, <http://www.1394la.com/> and
> <http://www.dvbla.com>.
> 
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