James Delahunty
10 Feb 2006 18:26
Toshiba and LG have agreed to share their optical disc patent portfolios in a bid to further each company's product development budget. Interestingly, the deal extends past discs to players and recorders too. It also includes the Toshiba-developed HD DVD next generation format. What makes this more interesting is LG's preference for the Blu-Ray Disc format. Of course, Toshiba will also have access to any Blu-ray technology-related intellectual property that LG holds.
Some experts have claimed the move is very beneficial for the HD DVD format in the run up to the upcoming next generation format war. LG said it would ship its first BD player, the BD199, in Q2. Pushing next generation technology aside, the patent sharing is most beneficial to both companies in the recordable and re-writable CD and DVD area, as they will continue to be bigger interests than next generation discs for some time yet. Specific details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Source:
Reg Hardware