Patent pool makes headway on next-gen telecoms licence

In a significant move for hi-tech IP, a major patent pool has announced that it is working towards a single licence for the next wave of mobile telecoms. Following negotiations with manufacturers and networks, MPEG LA, a group first founded to license DVD technologies, has won permission to develop a licence for the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.

It is thought that LTE set for a commercial rollout in new, high-speed handsets has already attracted a large number of relevant patents. MPEG LA believes that an LTE patent pool and one-stop licence will benefit consumers and patent holders alike.

Aiming to improve the 'adoption, interoperability and use' of technological standards, MPEG LA created a licensing scheme in the 1990s to tackle the patent 'thicket' that had grown up around the MPEG-2 model for digital video. In the group's view, the multiple original licences required to adopt various MPEG-2 features restricted the standard's spread. The single licence helped MPEG-2's speed-to-market and gave patent owners in the field confidence that they would be reimbursed for use of their technologies.

One of several '4G' platforms, LTE updates many of the characteristics of its 3G predecessor, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Renowned for ushering mobile devices into an era of global roaming, UMTS also allowed them to browse the internet. LTE retains these features, while providing users with faster connection speeds essential to running multiple applications.

In a statement, MPEG LA president Larry Horn said: 'The market is ready, and we are proud that industry-leading companies have invited us to facilitate [the] creation of an LTE pool licence. Given the history of telecommunications patent pools, MPEG LA has taken the time to consult directly with mobile network operators, network equipment manufacturers and mobile handset companies regarding the benefits of a patent pool for LTE, and they have encouraged MPEG LA to move forward with this effort.

'We are pleased by their vote of confidence,' Horn added. 'Next-generation wireless technology, with its multifunctional capabilities, begs for a patent pool licensing alternative to make its full potential available to consumers worldwide.'

As well as consulting with industry leaders, MPEG LA is reaching out to any innovators who have patented technologies relating to LTE, and has set a 19 June deadline for patent holders to submit materials they wish to be included in the licence. MPEG LA hopes that the process will eventually be expanded 'to provide coverage for backward compatibility with other mobile telecommunications technologies'.

Dating back to the 19th Century, patent pooling has become a popular and amicable means of averting infringement suits, finding markets and rewarding IP owners. In 2008, six blue-chip technology firms including Cisco Systems and Samsung committed themselves to a patent pool for the laptop-compatible wireless standard, WiMAX. Dubbed the Open Patent Alliance, the pool signed up its newest recruit, Acer, earlier this month.

For details of MPEG LA's LTE patent submission process, including terms and conditions, see www.mpegla.com/pid/lte.