Eventually, most Chinese manufacturers and the 3C alliance forked a deal under which manufacturers pay a fixed fee of $20 (appx. €15.4) for each sold DVD player. But as DVD players' prices have plummeted, the fixed fee is now almost half of the average wholesale price for basic DVD players.
Companies behind the lawsuit that was filed in the US District Court in the Southern District of California, accuse 3C alliance for price-fixing, unlawful tying of essential and non-essential patents together, group boycott and conspiracy to monopolize. According to the Chinese companies, typically U.S. patent licensing fees for other products are between 3 and 5 percent of the item's wholesale price, compared to the 50 percent for DVD players.
Frustration of Chinese and Taiwanese companies has also sparked several emerging competitors to the DVD format. Most important one seems to be the Taiwanese FVD that seems to gain momentum in Asia as manufacturers become unwilling to pay royalty fees, at least for the players sold in their home markets.
Source: Digitimes