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Google Brokers Patent Peace Talks for WebM Technology
Patent lawsuits have long been considered the nuclear weapon in a company’s arsenal to protect corporate intellectual property rights.
WebM is an audio-video format for use with HTML5 video. In an effort to bolster initiative and development in the area of this video technology, Google recently announced a program that runs counter to the classic rationale of patent protection through enforcement. The program entitled WebM Community Cross License is designed to dispel patent-related threats by granting royalty free licenses to other developers.
Presently, the program has attracted 16 other organizations including Google, Samsung, AMD, and LG Electronics.
Mike Jazayeri, Google’s director of product management for WebM, made the following statement with respect to the impetus behind this recent initiative, “We genuinely believe the Web is as ubiquitous today as it is because the early founders made the core technologies of the Web open and freely usable".
While some of the major patent holders in this field (Microsoft, Panasonic, Philips Electronics, Sharp, Sony) have not joined the program, Jazayeri claims that “this is just the beginning”. “We are in active discussions [to] engage those who benefit from the Web ecosystem.”
For additional information, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/webm-program