Court Dismisses EcoDisc’s Antitrust Suit Against DVD Forum

The EcoDisc suffered another setback when a U.S. court dismissed the company’s antitrust suit against the DVD Forum and its licensing arm last week. It was the latest legal reverse for non-standard, half-thickness discs in the U.S. (CED Aug 20 p14). But, court documents showed there’s still an option for green discs that fall within DVD standards.

Switzerland-based EcoDisc Technology sued the DVD Forum and DVD Format Logo/Licensing in October in U.S. District Court, Los Angeles. It alleged that the groups conspired to block the production and sale of its product by warning replicators that the discs don’t comply with DVD standards, and threatening that replicators risked losing their DVD licenses if they made the EcoDiscs.

EcoDisc claims green credentials because of its 0.6-mm construction -- half the thickness of conventional DVDs. Therefore, the discs use half the polycarbonate, and require no adhesives to bond the two halves of a regular disc. The 0.6 mm discs also produce lower CO2 emissions during manufacturing, and their lighter weight cuts greenhouse gas emissions when transported, EcoDisc says.

At issue is whether the 0.6 mm discs comply with DVD format standards. The DVD FLLC and standards-making DVD Forum claim they don’t. Of primary concern to both bodies is that half-thickness discs might cause problems in DVD devices that weren’t designed to play them -- jamming was reported in some hardware with slot-drives. EcoDisc claims it has had few reported problems with DVD hardware.

In her April 22 ruling in Los Angeles, Judge Mariana Pfaelzer said EcoDisc didn’t prove its antitrust case. She agreed that the defendants were justified in asserting their licensing terms, and agreed with their claim that “playability problems that accompany the non-compliant discs damage the brand and diminish the value of the DVD Logo."

DVD’s licensors are open to non-standard green discs -- but with provisos, the court documents said. “Subsequent to the filing of this lawsuit, on December 15, 2009, DVDFLLC sent a written communication to licensees offering an amendment to the license agreement,” the ruling said. That amendment would allow replication of 0.6mm discs if the licensee places a warning on the disc packaging. “This disc is not a standard DVD, and may not operate in some drives or players. … Further, the licensee must agree to indemnify DVDFLLC with respect to any costs of liabilities incurred in relation to the manufacture and sale of such discs."

Comment wasn’t available on that concession from the DVD Forum or the DVD FLLC Wednesday. EcoDisc CEO Wilhelm Mittrich didn’t reply to our requests for comment.