MPEG-4 Patent Infringement Warnings (AT&T)

[akrako1]

read it all at:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1923218,00.asp

AT&T Warns Apple, Others, Of Patent Infringement
02.09.06
Total posts: 1


By Bary Alyssa Johnson and Mark Hachman
AT&T has begun to name names in its hunt to license its MPEG video compression patents.

AT&T possesses several patents related to video compression, which the company says are an essential component of the MPEG-4 video technology. In a bid to drive its global licensing program, AT&T has targeted Apple Computer, Inc., CyberLink Corp., DivX, Inc., InterVideo, Inc., and Sonic Solutions as unlicensed companies whose products and software utilize the MPEG-4 technology.

[RottenFoxBreath]

what a load of bollocks,i reckon theyll lose this one big time.
seems as though theyve taken there time on it though,but cant see good things coming out of it for AT&T

[Marvingj]

Greed + Slime Bucket = AT&T

[pfh]

The "new AT&T" huh? I see, all because they want to bring us entertainment into our houses in an all new way!

[cosmin]

The trouble is, AT&T is not a part of MPEG-LA (Licensing Authority). While MPEG-LA did make clear statements about their MPEG-related patent claims, AT&T can claim what it wants. As the original article is saying, we might end up into problems similar to those involving GIF and the LZW patent.

On the other hand, there is no statement about AT&T having patents in the core H264. If this is true, we might be better off just sticking to that one. It's better than MPEG-4 Part 2 anyway. But I admit, it would be a big blow to the people who have to stick with DivX/XVid for some reason, if AT&T will be successful in its pursuit.

[RottenFoxBreath]

they might be able to do something about corporations,but for end users,like us,there pretty much fooked,we have tools,and the equipment,and so unless they outlaw that,then its a uphill battle.