The European Commission (EC) will reevaluate its licensing strategy for two next-generation optical disc formats – Blu-ray and HD-DVD.
The HD-DVD format was developed by Toshiba, while the Blu-ray format was created by a consortium led by Sony, Philips, Samsung, and Sharp Corporation, with Sony at the forefront.
The HD-DVD format was officially launched in April in the United States, garnering support from major players in the information technology and entertainment industries, including Intel, Microsoft, and Universal Studios.
Meanwhile, Blu-ray officially released its first products last month. However, this format has also received backing from 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
The two developers will have to compete against each other to capture market share in the promising entertainment audio-visual market. To achieve this, they must convince consumers to upgrade from the existing DVD format to either Blu-ray or HD-DVD.
A spokesperson for the EC stated that earlier this month, the commission officially sent letters to the developers of the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats, requesting them to provide information regarding their licensing practices. Additionally, the EC spokesperson declined to provide further details.
The EC did not disclose which companies received the letters or how many times they were sent. Only Sony confirmed that it had received a request from the European Commission, stating that it is fully cooperating with the EC.
“There are no signs indicating the existence of lawsuits or concerns over monopolistic practices here,” Sony asserted in a recent statement.
The EC is requiring the developers to provide the terms of licensing for the next-generation optical disc formats due to concerns that these terms may violate the EU’s competition principles. However, the commission has not yet conducted any formal investigations. The EC also refused to clarify whether it is seeking specific licensing terms for certain product sectors or if it is examining all licensing terms.
The developers of the next-generation optical disc formats will need to license their products to hardware manufacturers wishing to create compatible products.
Sony and its partners in the Blu-ray consortium stated that they began licensing activities in 2003. Currently, information on the official website of the Blu-ray consortium indicates that over 100 licenses have been granted to manufacturers across six different types of devices, including Hitachi, Pioneer, Samsung, TDK, and LG Electronics.
Once all information has been received, the European antitrust authority will decide whether to initiate an official investigation.
Toshiba has not yet commented on the aforementioned information.
Hoàng Dũng
