Philips Reaches Consensus With Ritek and CMC

Royal Philips Electronics N.V. has reached consensus with each of CMC Magnetics Corporation and Ritek Corporation on long term patent licensing agreements for CD and DVD recordable and rewritable discs. The licensing agreements will not only settle the past use disputes between Philips, the patent holder, and Ritek and CMC, two Taiwan-based leading optical disc manufacturers in the world, but also covers the use of the relevant Philips’ patents until 2012. The parties also have agreed to stop all legal actions against each other.

Ben Beune, Senior Vice President from Philips says: “We are encouraged that the joint efforts of the Taiwan industry leaders and Philips over the past one year and a half can finally bring a positive result. Philips never gives up the hope to work with the manufacturers to find a win-win solution. The new agreements not only serve both parties’ interests but also mark the start of a renewed relationship. We believe this is a positive and healthy development for the industry going forward and we highly appreciate the frankness and sincerity shown by CMC and Ritek in the negotiations.”

Y.Y. Shiao, Vice President of CMC says: “CMC attaches great importance to respecting IPRs which is critical for innovation and industry growth. By considering the overall benefits as well as the market status and outlook, CMC has decided to sign this new agreement with Philips. We believe this can contribute to CMC to maintain its global leading position in optical storage.”

Vincent Chiang, Legal Manager of Ritek says: “Sharing of technologies by innovators like Philips has contributed to many industries in Taiwan and the CD and DVD recordable media industry have grown exponentially during the past decade. To answer the industry changes and challenges and maintain our leadership in the industry, Ritek has decided to conclude this licensing agreement with Philips. We believe it is positive to the development of the optical disc industry.”