[Ip-health] Re: [A2k] Digtial television makers ask FCC to create patent pool for DTV patents, in order to avoid excessive royalities

Fri Jan 9 18:19:01 2009

There are a host of government agencies which have policies regarding
patents but I am not aware of any which can alter patent law (there are
some agencies, such as DOD, which have some jurisdiction, but that is
granted by patent law itself). I don't think  the FCC has been granted
jurisdiction to regulate patent rights and it seems this issue should be
directed at altering patent law, not asking the FCC to do something that
involves changing patent law.

Mickey Davis

> This is a matter about which I know a little.  FCC
> http://www.gtwassociates.com/answers/fccipr.htm and EPA
> http://www.gtwassociates.com/answers/cases/epamandatorypatentlicense.htm
> are the only government agencies that have patent policies
>
> Also see "Congressional Testimony & FCC Rulemaking concerning essential
> patents in proceeding 87 - 268  in the matter of Advanced Television
> Systems
> and Their Impact upon the existing Television Broadcasting Service" at
> http://www.gtwassociates.com/alerts/PatentLicensingforHDTVstandard.doc
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
> George T. Willingmyre, P.E.
> President, GTW Associates
> 1012 Parrs Ridge Drive
> Spencerville, MD 20868 USA
> www.gtwassociates.com  1.301.421.4138
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Love" <james.love@keionline.org>
> To: "a2k" <a2k@lists.essential.org>; "Ip-health"
> <ip-health@lists.essential.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 10:41 AM
> Subject: [A2k] Digtial television makers ask FCC to create patent pool for
> DTV patents, in order to avoid excessive royalities
>
>
>> Thanks to Konstantinos for bringing this to my attention.  Digital
>> television manufacturers are asking the FCC to mandate the establishment
>> of a patent pool for digital television with open licenses and
>> reasonable royalties.    The petition to the FCC focuses on the problems
>> of excessive royalties charged by two patent owners, for patents that
>> are needed to comply with an FCC standard.
>>
>> KEI will consider supporting this petition.
>>
>> Jamie
>>
>>
>> http://www.techweb.com/article/showArticle?articleID=212700600
>>
>> TV Makers Petition FCC Over DTV Patent Royalties
>>
>> Law360, New York (January 06, 2009) -- A coalition of television
>> manufacturers has petitioned the U.S. Federal Communications Commission
>> asking it to take steps to stop patent holders from charging excessive
>> license royalties for digital television intellectual property.
>>
>> In a petition filed Friday with the FCC, a coalition that includes Vizio
>> Inc. and Westinghouse Digital Electronics Inc. asked the commission to
>> establish licensing pools for DTV patents
>>
>> PRESS RELEASE OF ONE PARTICIPANT
>>
>> VIZIO, America's HDTV Company, Vows Support for 'CUT FATT' Effort to
>> Reduce Excessive DTV Patent Licensing Fees
>>
>> PRNewsWire News Releases
>> Published: 01/02/09 09:24 PM EST
>>
>> IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- VIZIO, America's HDTV Company,
>> announced today its support of the Coalition to Terminate Financial
>> Abuses of the Television Transmission. VIZIO is petitioning and urging
>> the FCC to take action and protect American consumers from excessive
>> patent charges for DTV that have already exceeded $1 Billion. The
>> coalition, also known as CUT FATT, was formed to protect American
>> consumers purchasing televisions from the excessive unregulated patent
>> fees, charged by companies claiming to own the patents needed to comply
>> with FCC standards for digital televisions (DTV). "At VIZIO we support
>> the American consumer, it is our duty to offer them more for their
>> money, therefore we support the efforts of the CUT FATT coalition," said
>> Laynie Newsome, VIZIO VP, Sales & Marketing Communications and
>> Co-Founder. Formed in mid-2008, CUT FATT's mission is to raise awareness
>> among Members of Congress and the FCC about the uncontrolled price
>> gouging of these patent holders. The petition asks the FCC to hold
>> abusive parties responsible for excess charges, and to impose new rules
>> for patent licensing to end the overcharging.
>>
>> (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060307/LATU014LOGO-b)
>>
>> Since July 1, 2007, the FCC has required that all televisions sold in
>> the U.S. include a digital tuner built to the requirements of the
>> Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). Holders of the patents
>> needed to meet these government-mandated requirements are demanding that
>> American consumers pay between twenty and thirty dollars per television
>> for the same patent rights that cost $1 or less in Europe, Japan and
>> other parts of the world. It is estimated that in 2008 and 2009 alone,
>> the aggregate royalty cost to American consumers will be well over one
>> billion dollars for fees that would total only about $65 million in
>> Europe and Japan. "Without action now, this abuse could continue for
>> many years. We believe that the FCC must declare that any DTV royalty
>> demands that exceed comparable international fees are a violation of FCC
>> rules. We believe that any patent holder seeking higher fees should be
>> required to prove to the FCC that their license fees are reasonable and
>> non-discriminatory. We also believe the FCC should initiate a rulemaking
>> proceeding in order to create a set of basic rules that apply to the
>> licensing of all patents that are required to implement the FCC-mandated
>> DTV receiver standards," states Laynie Newsome, VIZIO VP, Sales &
>> Marketing Communications and Co-Founder.
>>
>> "This is the great untold story of the transition to digital
>> television," said Amos Snead, spokesman for CUT FATT. "Since 2007,
>> American consumers have been paying more than twenty to thirty times
>> what consumers in Europe and Japan pay in royalties for basically the
>> same technologies. What's worse, patent holders bundle allegedly
>> essential technology with worthless patents, jack up the rates, and
>> stick consumers with the bill. The FCC created this system, and it's
>> time for the FCC to fix it by establishing basic rules that make pricing
>> fair and transparent. American consumers are willing to pay a fair rate
>> but they are not willing to be victim to uncontrolled price gouging."
>>
>> With more than 62,000 DTV sets sold every day, the total cost to
>> consumers for this rampant overcharging has already vastly exceeded the
>> cost of the transition subsidy provided to consumers through the NTIA
>> converter box program. Without action by the FCC or Congress, the high
>> fees will continue indefinitely.
>>
>> For more information about CUT FATT contact Amos Snead at
>> amos.snead@dittus.com, 202-715-1531 or the VIZIO press contacts below.
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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--
Mickey Davis
_________________________________
Prof. Michael H. Davis
Professor of Law
Cleveland State Univ. College of Law
1801 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44115-2214
(mailing address: 2121 Euclid Ave. LB 234)
216-687-2228
_____________________________________________________________
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