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Via Licensing announces availability of Digital Radio Mondiale patent
license
Via Licensing Corporation, in association with the Digital Radio Mondiale
Licensing Committee, have just announced
the commencement of the Digital Radio Mondiale patent licensing program.
Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) is the only digital transmission
system for short-, medium-, and long-wave bands with the ability to use
existing frequencies across the globe.
The DRM system provides clear, near-FM quality sound that represents a
dramatic improvement over analog transmissions and has the additional
capacity to integrate data and text. DRM holds the promise of revitalizing
broadcasting bands below 30 MHz and achieving widespread use around the
world.
The DRM patent pool brings together the essential DRM patents of multiple
companies, making it straightforward and convenient for product manufacturers
to acquire the rights from all of these licensors in a single transaction.
The existence of a patent-pool licensing program providing access to a
standard set of terms offered on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis
ensures a level playing field on which a competitive market can develop
for manufacturing and selling DRMbased products.
The DRM patent pool includes patents essential to both the audio-coding
and radio-transmission aspects of the DRM standard. Manufacturers and
developers of professional encoding or transmission/monitoring products,
as well as manufacturers of consumer receiver products, will benefit from
the availability of this license.
Companies that have been working with Via Licensing to bring the DRM
patent-pool license to market include AT&T Corp., Coding Technologies,
Dolby Laboratories, France Telecom, Fraunhofer IIS, NEC Corporation, Philips
Electronics, Robert Bosch GmbH, Sony Corporation, TDF, TSystems International
GmbH, Thales, and VoiceAge Corporation.
Ramzi Haidamus, president of Via Licensing Corporation, said, "It
is truly gratifying to see the collective effort of all the dedicated
licensors bear fruit. The successful launch of a joint commercialization
program for essential DRM patents is a reflection of the constructive,
collaborative spirit that has always been a welcome ingredient in the
culture of the DRM Consortium and the related essential patent holders.
Via Licensing is very pleased to be in a position to offer this license
at the right time to facilitate the orderly launch of Digital Radio Mondiale
receivers from multiple vendors targeting consumers worldwide."
The patent licensing fees for DRM products are presented on the Via Licensing
website at
www.vialicensing.com/products/drm/license_fees.html.
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