Monday, February 15, 2010

Royalty-free codec still needed despite no-cost h264 license


MPEG LA has announced plans to extend the duration of no-cost h264 licensing for free Internet video until 2016. This move lifts some of the immediate ambiguity about h264 licensing and will allow the codec to continue to gain broad traction on the Internet.

The patents that cover the various essential principles behind h264 video compression and streaming were obtained by a broad number of companies including Microsoft, Apple, LG, Sony, Samsung, and many other major players in the media and consumer electronics markets. These companies collaboratively pooled the patents through MPEG LA, an organization that sells patent licenses on behalf of its members. The pool makes it possible for users of the codec to obtain many of the requisite patent licenses from one place rather than having to go to each company individually.

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[link to original | source: Ars Technica - Front page content | published: 4 days ago | shared via feedly]


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