MPEG LA Sues Audiovox for Breach of MPEG-2 and 1394 Patent Pool Contractual Obligations

Business Wire, Dec 20, 2007

DENVER -- MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent licenses, today announced that it has commenced an action against Audiovox Electronics Corporation ("Audiovox") for breach of contractual obligations as a Licensee to MPEG LA's MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License (the "MPEG-2 Contract") and 1394 Patent Portfolio License (the "1394 Contract").

According to the complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Audiovox has breached its contractual obligations by failing to report fully its manufacture or sale of products such as DVD players and digital TVs that use the MPEG-2 digital video compression standard or employ the high-speed transfer digital interface provided for in the IEEE 1394 standard, failing to make full payments for its manufacture or sale of such products, and refusing to allow an audit as permitted by the MPEG-2 Contract and 1394 Contract (collectively, "the Contracts").

MPEG LA seeks, among other things, monetary damages, an order requiring Audiovox to allow the contractually required audit, an accounting of all products manufactured or sold by Audiovox subject to the Contracts, as well as injunctive relief prohibiting Audiovox from the manufacture or sale of MPEG-2 and 1394 products.

MPEG LA, LLC

MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses, enabling users to acquire worldwide patent rights necessary for a technology standard or platform from multiple patent holders in a single transaction as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. Wherever an independently administered one-stop patent license would provide a convenient marketplace alternative to assist users with implementation of their technology choices, the licensing model pioneered and employed by MPEG LA may provide a solution. Among MPEG LA's licenses is one for MPEG-2 digital video compression that has helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history. The MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License, which includes more than 850 MPEG-2 essential patents in 57 countries, has more than 1300 licensees accounting for most MPEG-2 products in the current world market. DVD videos are encoded with MPEG-2 video data, and every DVD player contains an MPEG-2 decoder. In addition, MPEG LA licenses patents that are essential for the IEEE 1394 high speed transfer digital interface; the 1394 Patent Portfolio License, which includes more than 275 patents in 22 countries, has more than 350 licensees. MPEG LA is an independent licensing administrator; it is not related to any standards agency and is not an affiliate of any patent holder. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.