Philips (PHG) has introduced a new way of licensing its CD-R disc patents. With this innovative system, called Veeza, Philips says it is helping the industry combat unfair competition from trade in unlicensed CD-R discs.
"The trade in unlicensed CD-R discs is undermining the possibility of CD-R disc manufactures to compete on quality, manufacturing expertise, and logistics excellence," said Ruud Peters, CEO of Philips Intellectual Property and Standards.
With traditional patent licensing methods traders and retail companies tend to have difficulty in verifying that the goods they have purchased, are licensed and royalties have been paid. Veeza will make it easier to sell licensed CD-R discs and more difficult to sell unlicensed discs.
Discs distributed under a Veeza-license can easily be traced and recognized by three clear marks: a logo that is embedded in the disc, a serial number on each package carton and an authenticity document, called Licensed Status Confirmation Document (LSCD). These three marks provide simple proof that a shipment with CD-R discs is licensed under Philips' patents.
Manufacturers participating in Veeza help promote the transparent and fair trade in CD-R discs by using the Veeza logo and Veeza LSCD with their products. Veeza-compliant companies will therefore benefit from a 44% reduction in the royalty, which goes down from 0.045 to 0.025 USD per CD-R disc.
Philips co-invented the CD-Recordable disc system in the early 1990s and has a portfolio of patents essential for manufacturing and selling CD-R discs. Philips successfully promoted the worldwide adoption of CD-R by making these patents available on reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions. Likewise, Philips has successfully promoted the DVD and DVD+RW standards. Currently, Philips is a major driver of innovation in Blu-ray technology and many other technologies.