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Key Finding in Sisvel vs. Haier: The Implementer Must Show Willingness to Licence
Cordula Schumacher, partner with Arnold Ruess, who represented Sisvel in all lower court proceedings and attended the BGH hearing, describes why the court ruled that implementers must clearly demonstrate their willingness to take a license.
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FRAND is the Biggest Example of Competitive Human Cooperation That Has Ever Existed
Sir Robin Jacob, former senior patent judge in the United Kingdom, and current Sir Hugh Laddie Chair Intellectual Property Law at University College of London, comments about patent licensing and FRAND.
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What Would the COVID-19 Lockdown Been Like Decades Ago? A Technology Perspective on Video Codecs.
On June 23, 2020, over 500 technology and licensing professionals watched the online Talk on “What would the Covid-19 lockdown have been like decades ago? A technology perspective on video codecs.” The Talk reviewed the recent history of codec innovation and detailed how the patent system and patent pools help fund these efforts.
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Key Finding in Sisvel vs. Haier: Not Willing Licensee if You Reject the Same Terms Your Competitors Have Accepted
Garrard R. Beeney, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and co-head of the Firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Group, presents his thoughts on the Sisvel vs. Haier decision and the surrounding law.
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Key Finding in Sisvel vs. Haier: FRAND Rules Help Achieve a Fair Resolution Between Innovators and Implementors
Garrard R. Beeney, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and co-head of the Firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Group, presents his thoughts on the Sisvel vs. Haier decision and the surrounding law.
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Key Finding in Sisvel vs. Haier: You Can't Use the Property Unless You Pay the Rent!
Sir Robin Jacob, former senior patent judge in the United Kingdom, and current Sir Hugh Laddie Chair Intellectual Property Law at University College of London, analyses the rulings in the case.
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Sisvel vs. Haier One of Key Decisions of 2020
The end of 2020 saw the German Federal Supreme Court’s (BGH) final decision in Sisvel vs. Haier. To us at Sisvel, this was a monumental decision which we asserted, “radically redefined the obligations of SEP implementors in patent negotiations as well a...
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Key Finding in Sisvel vs. Haier: The Holdout is the Market Distortion
Cordula Schumacher, partner with Arnold Ruess, who represented Sisvel in all lower court proceedings and attended the BGH hearing, summarizes one of the key findings from the case.
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Sisvel vs. Haier Confirmed, Redefining SEP Implementer Obligations: Webinar to Discuss Decision and Its Many Implications
A recent series of BGH decisions has radically redefined the obligations of SEP implementors in patent negotiations as well as the remedies and damages available to patent owners when implementors deploy hold-out strategies and other delaying tactics. Sisvel is hosting a free webinar on December 15 at 5:30 CET (11:30 AM EST) to discuss the cases and their implications.
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Welcome to the Sisvel Mobile Communication Program
Hello and welcome to our MCP blog!
My name is David Muus and I am the program manager of the Sisvel Mobile Communication Program. As an opening post to this blog, I wanted to give you some key pointers of what Sisvel’s work in licensing patents on cellu...
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Patent Pools: Setting Pricing for SEP and Other Pools
Setting the royalty is one critical and obviously necessary issue addressed during the patent pool formation process is. Since this is one of the most fiercely contested issues during the licensing phase, we’ll address it in this separate article both when standard-essential patents are involved, and when they are not.
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Patent Pools: Startup and Patent Analysis
The previous two articles in this series detailed what a patent pool is and how they are formed. This article will describe the startup phase and patent verification activities.
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How Patent Pools Form
In a previous blog post, we covered what patent pools are and the purposes that pools serve. In this post, we’ll cover how pools form, and some of the rules that govern their formation and operation.
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AV1 is a Copy Cat Codec
AOMedia asserts that AV1 is open source as if magically constructed without the use of existing patented technologies. A recent article in the Beamr blog contradicts this and shows how AV1 uses many of the same building blocks used by other codecs. Specif...
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Sisvel announces First Licensees of AV1/VP9 Patent Pools
On May 27, 2020, Sisvel announced that Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Spain-based Tremmen Tecnologica S.L. have entered into patent licensing agreements for Sisvel’s VP9 and AV1 Licensing Programs. The companies are the first two licensees of the poo...
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Who's At Fault Here?
For the most part, the editorial response to Sisvel’s AV1/VP9 patent pools has recognized the appropriateness of the pools and their formation. That is, a group of patent owners discovered that AV1 and VP9 infringed upon their patents so they formed a p...
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What is a Patent Pool?
While patent pools have existed at least since the 1850s, there’s still much confusion about the purpose they serve, how they are formed, and how they operate. This multi-part series explores these issues.
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AOM's AV1 patents aren't free: you're just not paying directly for them
Some in the press and blogosphere position the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) and Google as virtuous do-gooders who want web video to be free, in stark contrast to the “evil” Sisvel pools, who want to impose a “toll on the streaming video road“. Here we explain our position.
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Sisvel VP9/AV1 pools re-launch and editorial response
On March 10, Sisvel re-launched the AV1 and VP9 patent pools, adding nine new members and releasing initial patent lists for both pools. You can access the press release here. This blog post lists the news coverage relating to this announcement, with quotes...
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The Video Coding Licensing Platform as a one-stop-shop
When launching the Video Coding Licensing Platform (VCLP) and the two patent pools on VP9 and AV1 in March 2019, Sisvel and the founding members were strongly convinced about the value that this effort would be delivering to the video coding ecosystem: bala...
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Measuring the costs and benefits of patent pools
Patent pools are widely considered an efficient mechanism to acquire rights to patented technologies, but few researchers have estimated the value of that efficiency. Here we show the results of a research published in a 2017 law journal article, by two law professors.
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Sisvel VP9/AV1 patent pools in the news
Patent pools are widely considered an efficient mechanism to acquire rights to patented technologies, but few researchers have estimated the value of that efficiency. Here we show the results of a research published in a 2017 law journal article, by two law professors.
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The demonization of Non-Practicing Entities
In this post we explain why Non- Practicing Entities (NPEs) should not be demonized
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VP9-AV1 Q&A
In this post we explain why Non- Practicing Entities (NPEs) should not be demonized
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Welcome to Sisvel VP9/AV1 blog
Greetings and welcome to the Sisvel VP9/AV1 blog. I’m Mattia Fogliacco, CEO of Sisvel Group.
As you may know, video codecs have progressed over the last few years on two tracks; standards-based, royalty-bearing codecs like MPEG-2, H.264, and HEVC, and o...
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Sisvel announces the launch of its MIOTY LPWAN licensing program
On April 2020, Sisvel announced the launch of a joint patent licensing effort for the MIOTY technology.
Sisvel’s MIOTY licensing platform currently includes patents owned, or controlled, by Fraunhofer IIS and Diehl, which are cooperating in the field of wireless technology for low power wide area networks (“LPWAN”). The platform remains open and additional patent owners with relevant patents to the protocol family TS-UNB of the ETSI standard TS 103 357 can contact Sisvel for an essentiality evaluation.
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Sisvel announces new conditions for its DVB-T2 Licensing Program for Professional Products
On May 2018, Sisvel announced new conditions to the DVB-T2 Licensing Program for Professional Products, the most advanced standard for broadcasting digital television on terrestrial networks.
Any sale, purchase and manufacturing of unlicensed DVB-T2 Professional Products before January 1st, 2017 is not taken into account for royalties to be paid.
In addition, Early Bird conditions have been set for companies who sign the DVB-T2 license agreement for professional products within 6 months of notification letter (in any case, no later than December 31st, 2018).
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Sisvel becomes the administrator of the DVB-S2 patent pool
Previously managed by S2 Licensing, on April 2020 the DVB-S2 patent pool joined the family of DVB programs licensed by Sisvel. It offers a FRAND license to patents owned by AT&T Intellectual Property, LLC, RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.A. and The European Space Agency (ESA).
By administering DVB-S2 together with the DVB-S2X pool, Sisvel can now act as the reference point for this technology, making patents under these standards more easily accessible to the market for the benefit of both patentees and licensees.
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Sisvel announces the launch of the new DVB-SIS patent pool and the appointment received as custodian of the DVB-CSA algorithms
On March 2020, Sisvel launched a new patent pool related to the DVB-SIS standard, which allows for terrestrial retransmission of signals addressing DTH satellite receivers program.
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Sisvel grants a patent license to Spotify
On December 2019, Sisvel and Spotify signed a confidential patent license agreement that resolves previous litigations and welcomes Spotify as a new licensee of Sisvel’s Recommendation Engine licensing program.
Spotify joins a growing number of companies that have access to a portfolio of over 350 patents related to the Recommendation System Technology managed by Sisvel.
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Sisvel announces the launch of the JPEG-XT Joint Licensing Program
On April 2019, Sisvel launched the JPEG-XT Joint Licensing Program, with patents owned, or controlled, by Dolby International AB and Trellis Europe S.r.l.
JPEG-XT technology overcomes conventional JPEG limitation. Among its main benefits are backward compatibility, interoperability, preservation of the whole picture information (colours, luminance) and non-destructive edits, offering a true high-dynamic-range (HDR) quality, but much smaller than raw file in size.
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Ericsson joins Sisvel's DSL licensing program as a new patent owner
On March 2020, Ericsson joined Sisvel’s DSL licensing program, which covers patented technologies used in a wide range of communications devices and services, providing broadband access to data networks, such as the Internet.
Sisvel’s Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) licensing program includes now patents owned by Ericsson and Sisvel itself and aims at making both companies’ patent portfolios more easily accessible to the market.
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Sir Robin Jacob - Arbitration is the Best Solution
Sir Robin Jacob highlights that the European Commission shouldn't get involved in deciding whether something is FRAND or not FRAND; they should force parties into arbitration.
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Gustav Brismark - ROI to the Innovators is Essential
Mr. Brismark explains that to maintain a growing ecosystem and keep new features coming, there has to be a reasonable return on investment to the innovators.
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Richard Vary - Licensing Rules Tailored for the Auto Industry will Destroy Other Successful Markets
Mr. Vary explains that we need to be careful about writing rules which are specific to the automotive industry but may destroy an establish licensing practice in the mobile industry which is orders of magnitude bigger.
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Roberto Dini - So-called Efficient Infringement Discourages Innovators
Mr. Dini highlights that the so-called efficient infringement can no longer be accepted as it discourages innovators.
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Eeva Hakoranta - We Can't Afford Hold Out Behavior
Ms Hakoranta spoke at the Licensing Executives Society International Virtual Annual Conference on May 27-28 on a panel organized by Sisvel and entitled Restored Balance and Clarity in the Innovation Ecosystem.
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Welcome to Sisvel Wi-Fi Blog
Hello, I’m Andrea Rombolà, I’m managing the Sisvel’s program on Wi-Fi technology. As you’ll see over the next few months, we’re using this blog to educate readers on Wi-Fi technology, highlight the business opportunities in new and existing markets that it enables, and to present our point of view regarding patent licensing.
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Wi-Fi 6: It's Not Just About You Anymore
Most consumers see successive versions of Wi-Fi from a very me-centric lens - how much further can I sit from the router and still be productive? Or, can I watch 4K videos on my notebook while sitting in the backyard? And, of course, the most recent version...
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Restoring Balance and Clarity in the Innovation Ecosystem
Today’s consumers enjoy an incredible range of products that deliver enhanced convenience, safety, entertainment, and many other benefits. Many of these products are built upon technologies developed by companies that don’t actually manufacture the prod...
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Wi-Fi 6: the Innovation Continues
For many Wi-Fi users, the data in the table below tells them everything they need to know about Wi-Fi 6; It retains the same bandwidth as Wi-Fi 5, adds back the 5GHz frequency band (and further adds the 6 GHz frequency band – the so-called Wi-Fi 6E) , and...
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Auto Makers Double Down on Wi-Fi
Many new features in cars start as expensive options for luxury editions and evolve into standard features for all models. This certainly has been true with Wi-Fi. According to Car and Driver magazine, “Wi-Fi access has become a major selling point for bu...
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Wi-Fi 6 and 6E: The Perfect Prescription for the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
Even ten to fifteen years ago, most hospital Wi-Fi networks connected computers and notebooks, and perhaps the odd PDA or medical device. Today, the number of connected medical devices has soared into the millions, with many requiring in-hospital Wi-Fi conn...
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Wi-Fi 6E: What and Where
Wi-Fi 6E is an extension of the Wi-Fi 6 specification that incorporates products that support the 6 GHz wireless spectrum. To explain, all Wi-Fi 6 products support both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrums (see Fig. 2 below). But only Wi-Fi 6E devices also...
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SoFi Stadium Builds Super Bowl Fan Experience Around Wi-Fi6
SoFi Stadium is the glittery new jewel of NFL stadiums, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, and the site of Super Bowl 56. With connectivity so crucial to the fan experience, it’s no surprise that SoFi chose Wi-Fi 6 for its wireless tec...
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Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2: What You Need to Know
On January 5, 2022, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2. Here’s what you need to know about this announcement. What are the new features in Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 Release 2?The new features include uplink multi-user MIMO and three power ma...
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Curbing the Abuse of Anti-Suit Injunctions with Alternative Dispute Resolution: Two Views
Introductions
Two articles on anti-suit injunctions (ASI) were recently published by Sisvel and a distinguished cast of co-authors. These articles will be highly useful for any IP professional seeking to learn what anti-suit injunctions are, how they are b...
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Backgrounder: About WILUS Inc.
OverviewThis document briefly describes WILUS, Wi-Fi 6, and WILUS’ contribution to the 802.11ax specification, or labeled Wi-Fi 6 by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Though a relatively small company, WILUS contributed to many critical features in Wi-Fi 6, and its pat...
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Sisvel's DVB-T2 Patent Pool: How Successful Pools Accelerate Market Adoption
All patent pools launch with high aspirations and lofty goals. Most achieve modest success, while some fail outright. Others achieve spectacularly.This case study presents the history of Sisvel’s slow starting but ultimately very successful DVB-T2 pool. A...
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How You Should Think About Patents and Royalties
It’s easy for those with only a casual knowledge of standards-based technology development to consider patents and royalties a harmful and unfair “tax” on the companies that sell products based upon those standards. But understanding how standards lik...
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Editorial response on Via exit leaving Sisvel as the only patent pool on the wireless market
On April 26, 2022, Via Licensing announced that it was dissolving certain wireless pools and would likely contribute the wireless patents owned by Via to a 5G pool under formation by Sisvel. The following day, Sisvel announced that it would attempt to convi...
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Wi-Fi 6 reaches 50% Market Share
If you’ve been wondering if now is a good time to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6, you’re definitely late to the party. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently reported that Wi-Fi 6 surpassed 50% market share in three years, compared to the four years it took for Wi-Fi 5. The A...
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IEEE 2015 IPR Policy: Description and Operation
On February 8, 2015, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (“IEEE”) approved changes to the IEEE Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policies that defined Reasonable Rates for royalties relating to/in respect of future IEEE standards and ...
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LIFT: Accelerating Market Penetration and Levelling the Playing Field
Today we announced the launch of a new pool on Wi-Fi 6 technology. One breakthrough aspect is the Licensing Incentive Framework for Technologies (LIFT), which is a structured payment scheme that eliminates the competitive disadvantage that might be caused b...
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Would You Invest $2.3 Billion to Earn $2 Trillion?
Looking at the article title, the numbers have too many zeros for most investors to comfortably apprehend, but assuming that you had $2 billion lying around, would you invest it if you knew it would earn you over $2 trillion? Easy yes for any investor, ever...
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A 360 Degree View of LIFT
One of the most important components of the recent WiFi 6 pool announcement was the Licensing Incentive Framework for Technologies (LIFT) royalty payment structure. Several participants in our recent Wi-Fi 6 webinar described the rationale behind LIFT and h...
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Wi-Fi 6 pool's progress update
Sisvel launched the Wi-Fi 6 pool in July 2022 with great fanfare, also because of an innovative new payment scheme called LIFT.
Now just over five months in, we caught up with pool manager Andrea Rombolá and asked about progress to date.
&n...
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Sisvel listed amongst the IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders
Sisvel is delighted to be listed in the 2023 edition of IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders, which since its inception showcased the top experts in the IP world. Founded in 1982, Sisvel is one of the longest-running and still active companies operating in ...
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Overview of SEPs, FRAND Licensing and Patent Pools
Sisvel is proud to support the track on SEPs of the LESI Thought Leadership Program, a professional learning series organized by LES International.LESI Thought Leadership Program wants to be a “deep dive” on three topical areas such as:
Standard Es...
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