New DVD6C Licensing Program for DVD Players

The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C) consisting of eight leading developers of DVD technology and formats – Hitachi Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd., JVC KENWOOD Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba IPR Solutions, Inc. and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. – announced that it is revising its worldwide joint patent licensing program beginning on and after January 1, 2018, including offering a new license agreement (the ‘New DVD6C License’), which offers reduced royalty rates for DVD players to licensees in good standing.

Specifically, the revised licensing program provides for the following reduced rates from the current $1.75 per DVD Player – for DVD Players (DVD-Video players, DVD-Audio players, and DVD-ROM drives) for licensees in good standing, i.e., licensees who have no overdue or incorrect royalty reports or overdue or underpaid royalties (including back royalties) and are otherwise in compliance with their license agreement with DVD6C:

• $1.50 per DVD player for all DVD players sold or otherwise transferred on or after January 1, 2018.

• $1.25 per DVD player for all DVD players sold or otherwise transferred on or after January 1, 2019.

These reduced royalty rates will be available to such licensees for DVD players sold or otherwise transferred during any reporting period beginning on or after January 1, 2018, provided that the licensee was in good standing as of the due date for payment of royalties for the immediately preceding reporting periodLicensees shall not be considered in good standing for any period for which an audit has revealed an underpayment of royalties of greater than 3%.

DVD6C’s members have authorized Toshiba Corporation to act as a licensor on their behalf in licensing their essential DVD patents as part of this joint patent licensing program.

New or existing licensees interested in receiving the reduced royalty rates may enter into a new license agreement incorporating the revised royalty terms. Only those licensees who enter into a revised agreement will be eligible for the reduced royalty rates. Interested parties will remain free to negotiate individual license agreements with DVD6C’s member companies, rather than taking a portfolio license for all or any particular category of DVD products. The member companies have committed to provide such licenses under non-discriminatory terms and conditions.