Sharp Joins Blu-ray Patent Pool

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 1/24/2012

New York - Sharp has joined the One-Blue product licensing patent pool as a key licensor, the group said Tuesday.

Sharp was said to be bringing important patents essential to the Blu-ray Disc standard and will join licensors Cyberlink, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, JVC Kenwood, LG Electronics, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Taiyo Yuden and Yamaha.

"We are pleased to announce that Sharp has joined our licensing program as a licensor and is now making available their essential patents via the One-Blue program. Sharp has made major contributions to the development of the Blu-ray Disc standard and becomes an important addition to our pool," said Roel Kramer, One-Blue CEO.

One-Blue administers the licensing program for patents essential to Blu-ray Disc products and is the joint licensing agent of its licensors.

The product license covers Blu-ray Disc, DVD and CD essential patents; for disc products, the product license covers Blu-ray Disc essential patents.

The One-Blue patent pool is said to reduce costs while fostering fair use of the patent system.

Any holder of patents to optical formats used in Blu-ray Disc products is invited to submit patents for evaluation and join the licensing program as a new licensor.

Companies interested in obtaining licenses for one or more Blu-ray Disc products under the One-Blue product licensing program is requested to contact One-Blue, www.one-blue.com.