The lawsuit, interestingly, applies only to ATSC 1.0.
The only reason I'm forwarding this is because finally we know what the cost
per set is, for ATSC 1.0. Apparently, $5 per set, to drop to $1 per set by
2021. And we also now know how this compares with DVB-T patents. It's
apparently half again more, to twice as much, if I understand what they mean by
150% to 200%. Or maybe they mean 3X to 4X more than DVB-T? Whatever the number,
the dollar figure is quite a bit lower than what the hand wringers were
estimating. Don't know if this is considered high for CE devices.
Bert
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http://www.tvtechnology.com/news/0002/haier-files-patent-lawsuit-over-atsc-licensing/281704
Haier Files Patent Lawsuit Over ATSC Licensing
Chinese TV makers accuse MPEG LA, TV makers, patent Holders of antitrust
collusion
August 29, 2017
By Gary Arlen
NEW YORK-Claiming it "will suffer irreparable injury" because of alleged
antitrust discrimination, the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese electronics/appliance
manufacturer Haier Group is suing four major TV manufacturers plus other
organizations for "monopolization" of ATSC (Advanced Television Systems
Committee) patents and for "conspiracy" to force Haier America Trading L.L.C.
to pay a higher license fee to use the technology.
The lawsuit, filed quietly in New York in late August, accuses LG Electronics,
Samsung Electronics, Panasonic Corp., Philips N.V., the Columbia University
Trust Committee and MPEG LA LLC of colluding to create "unreasonable pricing"
for the ATSC license, a fee that does not reflect the falling price of ATSC
tuners, according to Haier. Zenith Electronics, LG's U.S. subsidiary which
holds patents, is also named in the suit.
Haier also charged that MPEG LA has "attempted to maintain its excessive
royalty rate by adding 'broadcasting' patents,'" which it characterized as
"improper royalty stacking."
The case only deals with the original ATSC digital standard; it does not
involve the emerging ATSC 3.0 standard.
The antitrust lawsuit is seen as retribution for the lawsuit that MPEG LA, the
patent pool licensing organization, filed against Haier in March. In that suit,
MPEG LA accused Haier of breaching its agreement to pay the ATSC licensing
fees. Haier had deemed the fees ($5 per set) unfair and announced last year
that it would cease payments at the end of 2016. The ATSC receiver royalty was
scheduled to decline to as low as $1 per set by January 2021. Haier claims
that the ATSC license fee is "150 - 200 percent higher than comparable
technology licenses in Europe."
Haier had a 3.4 percent worldwide TV set market share in 2016, slightly higher
than its 2015 share, according to Statista Inc. By comparison, the global
shares for other major TV makers in 2016 were 21.6 percent for Samsung, 11.9
percent for LG Electronics and 5.6 percent for Sony.
Observers who requested anonymity told TV Technology that Haier's antitrust
lawsuit could mark the beginning of legal battles against its competitors,
especially the Korean companies LG and Samsung. News of the lawsuit emerged in
Korean business publications shortly after the antitrust complained was filed
in New York. Analysts said that they didn't understand why Haier picked on the
five organization that are members of MPEG LA, which has 38 organizations
including Apple, Dolby, Google, Cisco and CableLabs. The 11 claims in Haier's
complaint single out some or all of the defendants for actions that Haier is
challenging.
Haier's staff and its lawyers who filed the antitrust suit did not respond to
multiple requests for further information, and the defendants contacted also
declined to comment on the case.
Among the 11 claims that Haier makes in its filing-some directed at all of the
defendants, others aimed at only two or three of the patent holders-are charges
of restraint of trade, non-essential patent misuse, expiration dates for the
licenses and breach of "good faith and fair dealing."
'NON-ESSENTIAL PATENTS'
In its 48-page complaint and request for a jury trial, Haier claimed that the
ATSC patent portfolio "forces licensees to purchase licenses to non-essential
technology." For example, it cites 13 patents owned by LG for a method to
identify "the status of a broadcast channel in a digital broadcast receiver"
(known at the "LG Channel-Skipping Patents.") But Haier claims that the ATSC
standard does not mandate such channel-skipping capability, and hence should
not be required; Haier sets do not include such a feature.
Haier also contended that, in violation of U.S. antitrust policies, MPEG LA and
the other defendants "have set royalty rates that raise costs" which "reduce or
eliminate competition."
"The anticompetitive conduct ... has harmed competition ... since the ATSC
patent pool was formed, including reducing the number of companies
manufacturing televisions ... and increasing market share for certain licensors
in the ATSC patent pool," Haier said.
"MPEG LA along with LG, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic and other licensors have
conspired in restraint of trade to affect, raise, fix, maintain, and stabilize
prices in the downstream product market by demanding an excessive, non-FRAND
royalty rate for the ATSC standard," according to Haier's complaint. "FRAND"
refers to Fair, Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory terms in a voluntary
licensing commitment, often used by standards organizations in patent licensing.
Haier claimed that it "attempted to negotiate license agreements ... on FRAND
terms" with Samsung and LG, but both said that Haier must obtain licensing from
MPEG LA.
Haier asked the court for "treble damages" of the amount "to be proven at
trial" for the defendants' actions. There is no timetable for the new filing or
for the MPEG LA's March suit against Haier.
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