Japan's Uldage Initiates Collective Licensing Patent Pool for 4K, 8K Broadcasting

Japan’s Uldage announced the start of collective licensing activities under a patent pool that will bundle and license patents essential to enable UHDTV satellite broadcasting standards to business operators involved in transmission and reception of 4K and 8K broadcasting. In the digital age, “it has become more and more necessary to resolve patent issues under fair and reasonable conditions by simplifying the complicated rights issues and the related complex procedures,” Uldage said Monday. The patent licensing makes it possible for broadcasters and receiver manufacturers to receive a license of bundled patents from a number of patent holders “under very reasonable conditions,” Uldage said. Rates for receivers are 100 yen (88 cents) per unit for narrowband CS UHDTV receivers and 200 yen ($1.76) per unit for wideband UHDTV receivers, it said.