SAN FRANCISCO—Via Licensing Alliance (Via LA) this week announced the addition of three new members to its ATSC 3.0 license pool.

IDEAHUB, a patent licensing service company in Seoul; Technology in Airscale, a firm that collaborates with patent holders to determine the value of their intellectual property; and SK Telecom, a South Korean telecommunications and AI company, join Via LA’s portfolio of 14 other 3.0 licensors.

By joining the ATSC 3.0 patent pool, these new members will have greater ease and opportunity to provide end users with the highest quality video and audio technologies, such as 4K /UHD, personalized programming and interactive television broadcasts, Via LA said.

“Via LA’s ATSC 3.0 patent pool is thrilled to welcome these three innovative companies that deeply understand the importance of strong intellectual property as well as the opportunity that a patent pool like Via LA’s can provide them in this rapidly growing field,” said Via LA president Heath Hoglund. “This new wave of licensors demonstrates continued market demand for the technologies in our ATSC 3.0 pool. We believe future implementers that recognize the value of our other programs will join this pool as more countries adopt the standard.” 

Through the pool, product manufacturers have access to a fair, transparent license to licensors' ATSC 3.0 standard essential patent portfolios, Via LA said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Avanci has launched Avanci Video, a new licensing platform for internet streaming services that is designed to reduce the complexities in the patent licensing process by providing users with a single, comprehensive license for video streaming services. 

Avanci specializes in solutions for sharing technologies and Avanci Video builds on the success of other Avanci platforms. Those include automotive, where almost 100 auto brands are covered by the Avanci 4G Vehicle license, which in a single agreement licenses the vast majority of essential cellular patents, and Avanci Broadcast, which has licensed the vast majority of essential ATSC 3.0 patents to the makers of most NextGen TVs sold to date.

“Avanci was created with a vision of transforming how technology is shared, and the similarities in the licensing conditions between internet video streaming today and the early days of connected vehicles are striking,” Kasim Alfalahi, founder and CEO of Avanci, said. “With our expertise in creating global, one-stop solutions, we are well positioned to find solutions for many industries – such as video streaming – where the benefits of an efficient and transparent licensing platform can drive innovation and adoption. Through Avanci, we can deliver value for licensees, while ensuring that the work of innovators around the world is recognized and rewarded.”

The launch comes at a time when viewing is shifting to streaming and media companies are looking for simplified ways to expand their streaming operations and to adopt new technologies to improve the streaming experience. 

In announcing the new platform Avanci noted that there have been rapid advances in video streaming and that patent licensing practices in the space must support the adoption of these new technologies. Negotiating separate patent license agreements for each new video standard increases complexity, reduces predictability, and increases the chances of a business disruption if negotiations fail.

Avanci Video encompasses the latest video technologies — AV1, H.265 (HEVC), H.266 (VVC), MPEG-DASH, and VP9. It launches with over 25 licensors, including many leaders in the research and development of these technologies, with more expected to join in future as Avanci offers a simple and efficient option for them to license their intellectual property.

Luke McLeroy, Senior Vice President at Avanci Video, added that “Avanci Video will enable internet streaming companies to predictably adopt and utilize the latest technologies to provide high resolution content, deliver reliable and seamless experiences for their subscribers, and reduce the financial, energy, and material costs of running their operations. We invite companies that provide internet streaming services or that own patents essential to video standards to contact us to discuss our licensing platform.”

More information about the Avanci Video platform is available here.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The NAB has filed comments with the FCC urging the agency not to take any action at this time regarding the marketplace for ATSC 3.0 standard essential patents that form the basis of NextGen TV. 

The issue was recently highlighted after LG was hit with damages in a 3.0 patent dispute  and the TV manufacturer's subsequent comments to the FCC that it was suspending its 2024 lineup of NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, capable TVs. The decision raised worries that other TV manufacturers might follow. 

In a filing with the FCC in response to the Commission’s Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking  (FNPRM) concerning the state of the marketplace for ATSC 3.0 standard essential patents, the NAB argued that “Initial comments in this matter strongly suggest that the Commission should refrain from further action at this time, as the market for ATSC 3.0 receivers remains strong, there is no basis for Commission authority over the patent marketplace, and Commission action would  not solve any apparent problem. We urge the Commission to continue to focus on avenues for  accelerating the ATSC 3.0 transition that fall within the Commission’s jurisdiction and expertise.”

The NAB noted that “no commenter has identified any statutory basis for Commission  regulation of the patent marketplace” and that the FCC’s “FNPRM itself identifies no statutory basis for  Commission jurisdiction over the patent marketplace. Indeed, the only support the FNPRM  offers for Commission authority in this regard are comments from two parties, Qualcomm and Ericsson, who have now corrected the Commission’s suggestion that they previously  acknowledged the Commission had taken action to prevent the abuse of patent rights. In particular, Ericsson states directly that it `has not suggested that the FCC has previously regulated patent licensing,’ and that `on the contrary, it is Ericsson’s view that the FCC cannot  introduce any measures to regulate standards essential patents licensing or to prevent  unsupported claims of patent abuse.’”

The NAB also argued that “[b]eyond the fact that the Commission likely lacks authority to regulate patent licensing  terms, there is no reason to believe that any such regulation would solve any current problem in the marketplace. As NAB noted in its initial comments, there is a growing marketplace for ATSC 3.0 compatible equipment, and consumers have a number of choices with respect to purchasing such equipment. Major television set manufacturers have several models of 3.0 compatible sets available for sale at a variety of screen sizes and price points. Industry estimates suggest that, by the end of 2023, approximately ten million 3.0 compatible sets will  have been sold, with tens of millions more sets expected to be sold in the years following. In addition, consumers interested in purchasing an accessory device that allows them to receive an ATSC 3.0 signal using their current television set will soon have multiple options. ADTH is already marketing and shipping a certified NEXTGEN TV accessory device that is available for less than $100. Zinwell announced it will also begin selling NEXTGEN TV certified devices  later this year….The comments of LG Electronics USA in this proceeding [about suspending their 2024 line-up of 3.0 TVs] do not change these facts, nor do they demonstrate that there is a consumer problem that could conceivably be addressed through Commission action.”

“LG’s decision to pause inclusion of ATSC 3.0 compatible receivers in its 2024 television lineup should be viewed as an unfortunate data point in a marketplace that is still in the process of developing, not as an invitation to unprecedented and overbroad Commission regulation,” the NAB stressed. 

The NAB also said that “Commission action could thus have the unintended consequence of distorting  the market and creating unhelpful incentives for entities not subject to Commission  regulation.”

Instead, the NAB argued that the FCC should focus on positive action to aid the spread of 3.0 broadcasts by looking “for opportunities to speed the deployment of ATSC 3.0 service and the adoption of 3.0  equipment, including by allowing broadcasters greater ability to differentiate their service  during the transition.”  

“We urge the  Commission to be proactive in exploring additional ways to accelerate the transition on both the transmission side (broadcasters) and the reception side (manufacturers and consumers),” the NAB argued. “A successful ATSC 3.0 transition is critical for over-the-air viewers to continue to have a  competitive free service offering. Ultimately, if broadcasters are unable to meaningfully distinguish their 1.0 and 3.0 service, that poses a far greater threat to the transition and to  over-the-air viewers than hiccups in the developing patent marketplace.” 

As word spread of LG Electronics’ decision to suspend ATSC 3.0 as a feature in its 2024 models in the U.S. following the loss of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Constellation Designs, ATSC responded with a bulletin to members and interested parties on the “progress and growing pains” 3.0 has experienced as of late.

In it, ATSC president Madeleine Noland sought to reassure readers that the impact of the situation “is likely very limited,” citing “one prominent electronics industry market analyst.”

At the core of the issue is how digital symbols are transmitted in ATSC 3.0. The NextGen TV standard uses non-uniform constellation (NUC) to optimize inherent channel capacity. Constellation Designs' complaint arguedsthat Maged Barsoum and Christopher Jones—two of the company’s founders—developed this technique in 2007 while at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The complaint further quotes a Samsung press release underscoring NUC as a “key component” in the A/322 Physical Layer, saying it is critical to “generating the modulated symbols and optimizing the transmission capacity for all reception conditions.”

In July, a jury in the Marshall Division of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found LG willfully infringed on four Constellation Designs NUC-related patents and awarded the company $1.68 million—some $6.75 per 3.0 unit sold.

The decision raises questions about what this might mean more broadly for the industry as it rolls out 3.0 as well as how something like this happened when ATSC has a patent policy in place. 

In this interview with Noland, the ATSC president talks with TV Tech Contributing Editor Phil Kurz about this and other questions raised by these growing pains and the progress the standard is making both at home and around the world.

(An edited transcript.)

TVTech: Let's start off with the basics. What was ATSC’s reaction to LG’s filing with the FCC informing the agency it will suspend sale of NextGen TV for the 2024 model year following its loss of the patent infringement case brought by Constellation Designs?
Madeleine Noland: Well, that did not come as good news. We recognize at the launch of a major new technology, there's definitely going to be bumps on the road, and there have been with this.

But I think the thing we need to remember about this is there's not a lot of information out there right now, and the information that is out there is rather scoped to a very niched spot for what's happening. I think the other thing ATSC keeps in mind is that history suggests that the marketplace works these types of things out.

You never know what's going to happen with any given situation. But we're hopeful that the marketplace will find its way forward and pursue paths that are going to be beneficial for the whole ecosystem.

TVT: I think one major concern involves the larger implications. When I asked the representative of the legal team representing Constellation Designs whether or not Constellation Designs had filed similar suits with regard to Sony, Samsung or other companies offering ATSC 3.0 enabled receivers, the answer wasn’t yes or no. It was basically "none of these players have secured licenses for use of the company’s non-uniform constellation technology." So, I think the bigger concern for the industry is, are we going to get muddled in some sort of legal morass that ultimately will impede the broadcast industry’s ability to advance its rollout of NextGen TV?
MN: It's so hard to predict what's going to happen, and from my perspective until there's something that demonstrates that the scope of this is changing my feeling is let's keep on our path. We are expecting to have New York City launched soon. We're excited about the new set-top boxes that are coming out.

I think it's a little bit counterproductive to speculate about what might or might not happen—the good, the bad or the ugly. We just don't know yet, and we have a lot of progress being made. We're going to keep making that progress. It's too early to say what may or may not happen, and we need to go on the facts that we have today in front of us.

TVT: How does something like this happen? According to the Constellation Designs legal filing, the company’s non-uniform constellation technology is fundamental to the physical layer of ATSC 3.0. How did the industry get to this point?
MN: ATSC’s patent policy requires all the participants to disclose their patents and to either agree to RAND [reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing] or that they don't agree to RAND and disclose that. That gives the ATSC membership and board of directors an opportunity to decide whether or not a given technology should or should not be in the system.

Patent policy relies upon the compliance of the participants. So, from ATSC’s point of view, we rely on our members and all the participants to disclose the patents that they have and to include them on the website. It's always possible that one of our members or participants has not. For whatever reason, something came out of the woodwork that they didn't anticipate. It can happen. So, I think that when things like that do happen again it's just a question of working through it with the parties involved and seeking a solution that's going to work for the ecosystem.

TVT: Is Constellation Designs a member of ATSC?
MN: They are not.

TVT: Is there a provision to deal with patents that are relevant to the standard that are held by non-members?
MN: The ATSC patent policy recognizes that ATSC itself is not in a position to do deep patent searches on all the patents that are coming out for a given standard, so, the patent policy relies on its members to do this due diligence. As I say, you know, it happens that a due diligence search may or may not have turned up absolutely everything, in which case, we do look to those members who are impacted to work with the marketplace and figure out the best next steps.

TVT: Is there any movement by the ATSC working group, committee or sub-group responsible for patent policy to revisit the organization’s patent procedures to protect against a similar situation in the future?
MN: Certainly, the ATSC board of directors is watching the situation very closely. We've had conversations about the patent policy, and we would adjust the patent policy if at the end of the day, the board of directors feels it's necessary. The patent policy and other policy documents are the purview of the board. And the board is, as I say, keeping a close eye on what's happening here.

TVT: What's your message to broadcasters as they're watching all this play out when it comes to planning their future deployments and business models?
MN: Interestingly, we have found that the broadcasters are moving forward as before. I have not heard broadcasters talking about changes of plans or changing directions as a result of this.

Again, my feeling is both for broadcasters as well as others need to take it for what it is at face value right now. We simply don't know what may or may not happen in the future. And the plans that the broadcasters had to launch in New York and a few other markets, including Chicago, hopefully soon, seem to be rolling forward as before, to my knowledge.

So, in a way, I think that we can all follow suit with the broadcasters rather than us trying to send a message to the broadcasters. We can watch what the broadcasters do, and they're just going forward. I think that they see that this is going to ultimately have a solution that's going to work and that their plans are going ahead.

TVT: What can you tell me about the New York launch of NextGen TV?
MN: I'm excited about New York because we are going to have our public broadcast station WNET up and running. What's also exciting about New York is that a second transmitter is scheduled as well. So, the first transmitter coming online will be the public broadcaster, and then later on there's another transmitter that's scheduled. I think both are supposed to be lit up this year. 

TVT: What’s the latest developments from Brazil?
MN: I’m very excited about Brazil. Brazil started their process of defining their second generation, what they are calling their "TV 3.0" digital system. They started that process back in 2020, and since then they've gone through a development of requirements, a call for proposals, combing through the responses to all the proposals. ATSC 3.0 was among them.

(Read: Where in the World is ATSC 3.0?)

Basically, they are selecting layer by layer which technology that they're going to use. They weren't sort of doing one-stop shopping. They were saying: “Let's pick the best video.” “Let's pick the best audio.” “Let's pick the best transport.”

We're pretty excited that they have so far chosen almost all ATSC 3.0 technologies. There are two exceptions. So far, they've chosen ROUTE/DASH for transport, MPEG-H audio, ISMC1 caption and ATSC emergency messaging.

The one that they are going to do is have VVC instead of HEVC, which is logical because they're coming a little bit after ATSC. But we're going to catch up to them. We're adding VVC, too, to the 3.0 standards. So, it'll all be one, pretty soon. Then the other one is their interactive system. They are keeping their homegrown system that they've been using for years. So that was never really on the table for a new proponent to come in. 

So, the last piece is the physical layer. There were four proponents for that. At one point earlier this year, one of the proponents withdrew, which took it down to three. Three proponents were in lab testing. Their plan was that when the lab tests concluded that they would take two of the three proponents to testing in the field. 

I'm very pleased to announce that ATSC 3.0 is one of the two systems that's advancing to the field. So, we will be undergoing field testing with one other system. The expectation is field testing will conclude late in Q1 next year.

By then, they will have recommended their full suite of layer technologies, and we'll be moving forward from there. So, we're excited by what's happening. 

TVT: Is there any concern that this whole patent issue related to non-uniform constellation modulation, which is an integral part of the physical layer, will have a negative effect on Brazil’s decision about what to choose?
MN: Interesting question. By no means is ATSC a patent attorney, and we are not in a position to predict what is or isn't going to happen. However, we have researched the matter.

There are a couple of data points I think are worth mentioning. One is that looking at an international patent search for Constellation Designs, and not having done a completely deep dive, but at least looking at a reasonable level, it appears that the patent is granted in five countries. Brazil is not one of those countries.

What that exactly means, I'm not 100% sure. But ATSC is working with its counsel to try to understand the nuances.

I think the other thing that's worth mentioning is that one of the countries that they do have it in is Japan, which is the source of the other physical layer standard that's being tested [in Brazil]. Presumably, and I can't say this, for sure, but I would think that it's entirely possible that that standard also has non-uniform constellations in it.

So, when you look at the landscape as it stands right now, it would seem that a couple of things are happening: If non-uniform court constellations are in the other system, which is originating out of Japan, there may be a similar situation. I don't know.

The other thing is that the patents don't appear, at least not at this moment, to exist in Brazil. So, I don't know how it's going to impact things. But these are the things we've been able to uncover so far, and we're communicating transparently with the Brazilians about what we're finding.

TVT: Finally, what’s the update on ATSC 3.0 in India?
MN: Funny you should ask. I was up at 3:00 in the morning Pacific Time today to do a webinar at a TSDSI [Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India] technical deep dive conference talking about converged networks.

In India, what's happening is the TSDSI, which is their telecommunication standards development organization and a partner of the 3GPP [mobile broadband standards group] have adopted or transposed –I forget which terminology they exactly use—ATSC 3.0 as their own.

Currently, the Indian regulatory authorities are in a comment period to help decide whether or not to make ATSC 3.0, as adopted by TSDSI an Indian national standard. If they do that, that paves the way for ATSC 3.0 to be deployed in India.

Right now, it is deployed on an experimental basis. There's a major proof of concept field trial going on in Delhi. But I think that if the Indian regulator were to permit 3.0 as an Indian national standard that would open up some doors. That said, unlike Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, South Korea and Brazil, there's no government mandate within India to make a change at all, let alone to ATSC 3.0 or any other system. 

So right now, they're very much in the testing phase, understanding and paving the way for what they may or may not do in the future. But I think that it is important to note with India, that they really are highly motivated to have a direct-to-mobile broadcasting solution. And that's pretty exciting.

TVT: Is it reasonable to think that with India’s direct-to-mobile strategy and its population of more than 1 billion people, that if 3.0 is permitted as a national standard that 3.0 mobile reception—that is in cell phones—will get a big boost?
MN: Certainly, I think that what's interesting about India is, as you point out, it's such a large market, that you could argue they can create scale, unilaterally within the country. That certainly is pretty exciting if that were to come to pass.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Adeia has announced that it has signed an early renewal agreement with Altice USA that extends the pay TV operator’s license of the Adeia's media intellectual property (IP) portfolio that supports Altice’s Optimum services, including their cable TV and over-the-top (OTT) streaming services. 

“We are pleased to announce this early renewal, which extends our long term relationship with Altice,” said Paul E. Davis, CEO of Adeia. “The US pay-TV market is among the most competitive environments in the world. Leaders in this segment, including Altice, are leveraging innovations that improve digital entertainment experiences to help consumers quickly, easily and intuitively find the content and services they want to enjoy,” 

With nearly five million residential and business customers across 21 states, including the New York City tri-state area, Altice is one of the largest broadband communications and video service providers in the United States. 

This agreement supports the latest generation of video service technologies and it ensures that Altice meets the high expectations of its customers for content quality and intuitive navigation, the companies said. 

“Adeia’s media IP portfolio offers pay-TV providers the opportunity to deliver consumers a truly personalized media experience by continuously advancing innovations that enhance the customer experience, including improvements for content discovery, search and recommendations, among many others,” said Davis.

 Adeia was spun off from Xperi last fall. 

ARRI and Rotolight have announced that they’ve settled their dispute over Rotolight patents and that both sides have withdrawn their legal challenges. 

"ARRI has agreed to a settlement with Rotolight, relating to Rotolight’s cinematic special effects “CineSFX" patent portfolio in the US, UK, and Europe,” ARRI and Rotolight said in a joint statement. “ARRI no longer contests the validity of Rotolight’s patents and has withdrawn its Inter Partes Review in the US accordingly. Simultaneously, Rotolight has withdrawn its US District patent court action against ARRI. All ARRI products will continue to be offered as always. ARRI and Rotolight respect intellectual property and value fair competition”. 

In a separate statement, Rod Aaron Gammons, CEO of Rotolight added that “Rotolight invests millions each year into research and development in order to bring its customers the latest in lighting technology and innovation. However, such investments can only be made with the knowledge that those investments and the intellectual property, which underpins them will be respected. We are therefore pleased to have reached a settlement with ARRI, and shall continue to take all steps necessary to protect our intellectual property from ongoing infringement. In so doing, this will allow us to continue to invest in bringing industry-first innovations to market. Any other infringing companies should now proactively approach Rotolight directly, to secure a licensing agreement on reasonable commercial terms. ”      

Rotolight designs innovative LED lighting products for the cine/broadcast and photographic industries that have been used by leading filmmakers, studios and broadcasters around the globe.   

Manufactured in the UK, Rotolight products have pioneered numerous industry-first, patented technologies, such as the first suite of user customizable cinematic lighting effects (CineSFX), and the world’s first electronic diffusion technology (SmartSoft), the company said.  

The company also noted that the Rotolight CineSFX and related Magic Eye patent family contains 18 granted patents relating to user-customisable special effects, which have been granted by patent offices in the US, UK, Germany and Europe, the company said. 

These patents were developed internally by Rotolight, working in conjunction with Emmy winning Visual FX Veteran Stefan Lange (IMDB), who is listed as a co-inventor of these patents. 

In addition to the settlement agreed with ARRI, Rotolight also successfully defended two IPR cases relating to the same patents (IPR2022-00262 and IPR2022-00261) in the USA brought against it by Vitec Production Solutions Inc. 

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board found in Rotolight's favor, denied the institution of their InterPartes patent review and re-confirmed the validity of the granted Rotolight CineSFX patents, Rotolight said. 

WATERLOO, Ontario—SSIMWAVE, a developer of viewer experience QC and automation technology, has been awarded a patent for image and video banding detection. 

U.S. Patent No. No.63/008, 257, "Image and Video Banding Assessment," is intended to help live and VOD streaming services detect and eradicate one of the most difficult-to-solve video quality impairments in OTT streams. The solution is already deployed in production by some of the top streaming platforms to optimize for Banding across billions of hours of viewed content.

The patent describes the method by which the SSIMPLUS products and metric address banding effects in an image or video, including:

• Assessing content for banding impairments;
• Determining the significance and location of the impairment;
• Detecting the banding pixels;
• Creating a banding map; and
• Determining the intensity level of each of the banding pixels.

"Banding's effect on content impacts viewing experiences, of course, but it is particularly frustrating for content creators," said Dr. Abdul Rehman, CEO and Co-Founder of SSIMWAVE. "Establishing a patented method for detecting banding will help preserve the content community's creative intent, driving all of the high engagement and deep emotion that was intended when the content was produced."

Banding is a common compression impairment that usually appears in smooth regions within encoded videos. All popular codecs, such as H.264/AVC, VP9, H.265/HEVC, and AV1 can introduce banding. Content-aware encoding approaches typically introduce more banding as content regions that are prone to banding are generally deemed low complexity by such encoders and are compressed even more than traditional approaches, resulting in even more banding. The impairment is noticeable in both SDR and HDR content, especially on high-resolution displays.

SSIMWAVE measures banding on the SSIMPLUS Banding Score, a 0-100 scale in which 0 means no visible banding is detected and 100 indicates situations in which banding makes the video hard to watch or even unwatchable. SSIMPLUS can detect banding at any point in the delivery chain from ingest to playout.

SSIMWAVE will show banding detection in action at Stand 1.B10 at IBC 2022 or via this video. SSIMWAVE also will showcase its newest live sports streaming benchmarking capabilities at IBC.

"Banding impairment is prevalent across all content, including tentpole titles, streaming services and display devices. We are excited to be partnering with content creators in preserving creative intent by monitoring and optimizing content delivery workflows to eliminate or reduce banding," said Dr. Abdul Rehman, CEO and Co-Founder of SSIMWAVE. "The patented ability of SSIMPLUS to detect banding will help the industry provide a superior video product that will raise the bar on consumer satisfaction."

 DENVER—In an important development that should simplify and speed up the launch of NextGen TV receivers and consumer products, MPEG LA has announced the availability of the ATSC 3.0 Patent Portfolio License providing a one-stop way of licensing patents that are essential to the next generation broadcast standard developed by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). 

The initial ATSC 3.0 Patent Portfolio License for the ATSC 3.0 standard includes essential patents from 13 worldwide organizations. 

“MPEG LA is proud to continue its role in support of the broadcast industry’s next generation terrestrial broadcast system that began with our licenses for the ATSC 1.0 standard and the MPEG-2 video compression standard used in ATSC 1.0,” said MPEG LA president and CEO Larry Horn. “As a convenience to ATSC 3.0 implementers and the potential that ATSC 3.0 brings to market, our ATSC 3.0 License will continue MPEG LA’s rich and reliable tradition of addressing the market’s need for transactional efficiency and predictability in accessing necessary intellectual property rights owned by many different organizations under a single license. We are especially proud to be joined in this effort by leading ATSC 3.0 developers from all over the world.”

The launch of the ATSC 3.0 patent pool was applauded by One Media, LLC, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Coherent Logix and a major proponent and developer of ATSC 3.0 technologies. 

One Media noted that the formation of the ATSC 3.0 Patent Pool by MPEG LA will dramatically simplify the efficient licensing of the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast technology in multiple-receive devices, easing the distribution and deployment process.

“The ability to offer this remarkable technology to consumer equipment manufacturers in a simple, all-encompassing license should ease the process of deploying sophisticated new receivers to consumers worldwide,” said Jerald Fritz, executive vice president of One Media. “We congratulate MPEG LA for helping shepherd multiple international entities toward this common goal.” 

Patent pools provide for a consortium of companies agreeing to combine related intellectual property and offer “one-stop licensing” to vendors that want to include the technology in their equipment for sale to the public. MPEG LA has been a pioneer in the formation and management of these types of pools, establishing reasonable royalty rates for licensing patents needed to implement the technology, One Media said. 

The initial patent owners to MPEG LA’s ATSC 3.0 License are CableTelevision Laboratories, Inc.; Cerinet USA Inc.; Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC), part of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation; Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.; Koninklijke KPN N.V.; Koninklijke Philips N.V.; NEC Corporation; Nippon Hoso Kyokai; ONE Media, LLC; Panasonic Corporation; Shanghai National Engineering Research Center of Digital Television Co., Ltd (NERC-DTV); and Sun Patent Trust.

The ATSC 3.0 Patent Portfolio License and a summary of the License terms may be obtained here.

MPEG LA noted that its objective is to offer worldwide access to as many ATSC 3.0 essential patents as possible to everyone on the same terms under a single license. It is also encouraging owners of patents that are essential to the ATSC 3.0 standard to contact MPEG LA so that their patents can be evaluated by MPEG LA’s patent experts and included in the License if they are deemed to be essential. 

Interested ATSC 3.0 patent owners may request a copy of the terms and procedures governing patent submissions here.

MUNICH and SEPHANSKIRCHEN, Germany—ARRI today announced it is seeking review by the U.S. Patent Office of patents issued for what it describes are “already well know” and widely used technical advancements related to what calls “conventional lighting effect functionalities.”

“It is our view that these patents should not have [been] issued and are invalid, because the technical ‘advances’ they claim are not in fact new, but instead were already well known and in widespread use at the time of the alleged invention,” said Ivo Ivanovski, general manager of the ARRI lighting business unit, in a statement.

“So that we may continue to effectively offer our customers these conventional functionalities, we find ourselves in the position of having to initiate IPRs (Inter Partes Reviews) of existing U.S. patents, in order to have the U.S. Patent Office review their legal validity.”

Multiple manufacturers of lighting products use “conventional lighting effect functionalities” threatened by the alleged patent infringement, he said.

“We have to defend ourselves, including to protect our customers and the industry, against intellectual and industrial property rights that do not protect an innovation but instead improperly limit the available technical options,” he said in the statement.

ARRI did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on the patents, who is alleging infringement and how products in the pipeline for delivery to customers are being affected. TVTech will update this story as more information becomes available.

More information is available on the ARRI website. 

LOS GATOS, Calif.—Roku is heading from one court case to another. After being cleared last week of a patent infringement claim, Roku is now going after Universal Electronics for its violation of Roku's patents related to the set-up of infrared remote controls.

First, last Friday Roku was cleared by a Western District of Texas jury on charges of patent infringement by ESW Holdings. ESW argued that Roku's "development environment," which allows third-party developers to create streaming channels and advertisements to make available on Roku's own streaming platform, was in violation of its two patents that deal with interactive television technology.

ESW was asking for damages that could have been as high as $228 million.

Roku pointed to witness testimony from employees of the startup that developed the ESW technology that said they did not believe Roku infringed on the patents, including the inventor of the patents, who explicitly said that Roku was not infringing.

Law 360 has a full recap of the trial proceedings.

Meanwhile, Roku is possibly heading back to court, this time as the one claiming patent infringement against Universal Electronics, as TV Tech's sister publication Next|TV reports. Roku filed the suit in a California federal court, alleging violations of its U.S. Patent No. 8,378,875, "Method of Programming a Universal Remote Control," and No. 7,388,511, "System for Remote Control of Identical Devices."

Roku claims Universal Electronics has infringed by including "QuickSet" and "SimpleSet" features in programmable remotes for pay-TV operators like Charter Communications, WideOpenWest and Videotron, as well as smart TV manufacturers Samsung, LG Electronics and Zenith.

In 2020, Universal Electronics filed suit against Roku, alleging that its remotes for TCL and Hisense remotes violated its patents.

DENVER—With the ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV standard on the horizon, MPEG LA has put out a call for patents “essential to ATSC 3.0 standards” in order to create a joint license to the intellectual property of ATSC 3.0 developers.

“MPEG LA is pleased to begin the process of creating an efficient one-stop license offering access to key intellectual property rights that will help make ATSC 3.0’s benefits available to consumers without delay,” said Larry Horn, president and CEO of MPEG LA.

Anyone that believes they have patents essential to the ATSC 3.0 standards is invited to submit to MPEG LA by Sept. 8. Only issued patents will be included in the license; patent applications with claims that owners believe are essential to the ATSC 3.0 standards and likely to issue in a patent also may be submitted in order to participate in the license development process.

Visit MPEG LA’s website for more information regarding the submission process.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

LOS ANGELES—After applying for a pair of patents in 2011 for its “Watch and Win” game on Fox Sports/Whatifsports.com, Fox Sports announced that the patents were recently approved. Fox Sports has also announced that it has crossed the 100 mark of secured and pending patents.

The “Watch and Win” game patents protect games generated for both sporting events and entertainment where a series of questions related to live events are generated, organized and provided to viewers through an interactive gaming interface, according to the Fox Sports press release. The game ties together the broadcast and interactive servers, allowing viewers to answer questions in real-time.

With these new patent approvals, Fox Sports now has 34 secured patents and more than 70 patent applications pending.

Richard Redmond and Ted Staros

CINCINNATI – GatesAir has announced that is has been awarded seven new patents for signal quality and over-the-air broadcast architecture. The seven inventions include:

• Method for reducing digital filter coefficient word size and apparatus therefor (Ted Staros, John Levieux)
• Predictable coding delay over communication networks (Junius Kim)
• Operation of an antenna on a second, higher frequency (Geoff Mendenhall)
• Systems and methods for presentation of digital media at a mobile platform (Jay Adrick)
• Linearization of heterogeneous power amplifier systems (Dmitri Borodulin, Keven Berndsen)
• Broadband high efficiency amplifier system incorporating dynamic modulation of load impedance (Dmitri Borodulin, George Cabrera)
• Push-pull amplification systems and methods (Dmitri Borodulin, George Cabrera)

“These innovations are focused on improving system methods and enabling greater efficiencies that affect everything from signal management and amplification, to the delivery of dynamic media content to consumers on the move,” said Rich Redmond, chief product officer, GatesAir.

These seven patents join the 238 other U.S. and Global patents GatesAir has received. The company also has seven other patents pending clearance.

SAN FRANCISCO - WideOrbit has announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued three patents for inventions designed to provide broadcasters with greater control, engagement and monetization of streamed content.

The first patent, for invention 8,984,094, delivers content skipping technology, giving listeners greater control over live-streamed broadcasts. With this invention, WideOrbit seeks to offer more engagement for listeners during live-stream broadcasting with access to a feature that was previously only available for on-demand audio services.

Invention 9,003,443’s patent provides program syndicators with greater control over content insertion. By using this invention, syndicators can insert content and advertising into audio streams without using injector markers or accessing the streaming party’s computer or encoders.

The patent for invention 8,996,712 covers WideOrbit’s WO Streaming technology. This allows for the insertion of targeted advertising in audio and video streams delivered with HTTP live streaming, a common video streaming protocol used for QuickTime, Safari, OS X, and iOS software.

“These patents and our continued investment in research and development are exemplary of WideOrbit’s commitment to providing broadcasters, streamers and integrated media companies with technology that will help them make money from changes in how consumers enjoy audio and video content,” said Eric R. Mathewson, founder and CEO of WideOrbit.