The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C) revised its patent licensing program including a new license agreement, which offers reduced royalty rates and additional licensing options. The group consists of developers of DVD technology and formats -- Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.

Key changes to the new licensing program include the reduction of royalty rates for DVD Read-Only Discs (i.e., the DVD-Video Disc, DVD-Audio Disc and DVD-ROM Disc) from US$0.045/Disc to US$0.040/Disc for sales of DVD Read-Only Discs beginning on or after the Effective Date of the New DVD6C License.

The new licensing scheme also adds the +R Discs and +RW Discs as new categories of licensed DVD Products. The royalty rates for +R and +RW Discs shall be the same as the current royalty rates for DVD-R and DVD-RW Discs, respectively.

In addition, Time Limited DVD Discs in the DVD-ROM Disc, DVD-Video Disc and DVD-Audio Disc categories have been included in thelist of the licensed DVD Products.

The Group said that interested parties would remain free to negotiate individual license agreements with DVD6C's member companies, rather than taking out a single portfolio license or license for a category of products.

The royalty rates to be offered under the New DVD6C License are shown below:



For further information regarding the DVD6C licensing program, visit the 6C web site (www.dvd6cla.com).