DVD licensing cartel sued under anti-trust
The cartel that controls patents on DVD technologies is being sued by Chinese DVD makers, who are ebing forced to pay $20 per player, much higher than US manufacturers pay. The DVD makers have a good anti-trust case that could seriously bust this cartel.Patent fees of around US$20 per unit are currently levied on manufacturers of Chinese DVD players, accounting for some 20 to 30 per cent of their production costs.Link (via Engadget)However, US manufacturers' patent fees are much lower, only 3 to 5 per cent of their production costs.
The high patent fees have hit Chinese DVD manufacturers hard, with exports of Chinese DVD players falling sharply last year.
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Cory Doctorow
Upcoming appearances
* Feb 9, 2012, DeKalb, IL: Day of Doctorow, NIU
* Feb 10-12, 2012, Chicago, IL: Capricon 32
* Feb 13, 2012, Arlington, TX: UT Arlington College of Engineering Distinguished Speaker Series
* Feb 16, 2012, Victoria, BC: 13th Annual Privacy and Security Conference
Recent books:
* Context (essays)
* With a Little Help (short stories)
* For the Win (YA novel)
* Makers (adult novel)
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