MPEG LA Seeing ‘Great Deal of Enthusiasm’ for Forming ATSC 3.0 Patent Pool

With the FCC order set to take effect March 5 authorizing voluntary deployment of ATSC 3.0 (see 1802010025), MPEG LA is encountering “a great deal of enthusiasm for an ATSC 3.0 pool license,” said spokesman Tom O’Reilly. Having announced in August a call for patents essential to the 3.0 suite of standards (see 1711010054), “to facilitate creation of a joint license for ATSC 3.0,” MPEG LA held two meetings on forming a patent pool “and will hold our third meeting next month,” said O’Reilly. “Fifteen companies are participating so far.” He gave no timeline for when a 3.0 patent pool might be operational. MPEG LA runs 15 patent pool programs, including one for nine licensors for some essential patents embedded in ATSC 1.0. The two largest joint-license programs MPEG LA administers in terms of the number of participating licensors are those it runs on behalf of 38 companies in the AVC/H.264 pool and 36 companies in the HEVC/H.265 pool. The FCC 3.0 order released Nov. 21 said the commission will use the first five years of 3.0 deployment to "monitor" how the marketplace handles royalties for essential patents, electing for now not to impose licensing rules on 3.0's rollout (see 1711210004).