ALEXANDRIA, Va. & TURIN, Italy - Oct., 2005 - Audio MPEG, Inc.
and Sisvel, S.p.A. announced that Thomson S.A. and a number of
its subsidiaries have been sued in the United States and Europe
for infringement of several MPEG Audio patents by its MP3
players and digital set-top boxes. This patented technology was
developed and is owned by France Telecom, TDF (Telediffusion De
France), Philips, and IRT (Institut fur Rundfunktechnik GmbH).
The patents are essential to the MPEG audio compression standard
used worldwide in MP3 players, TV set top boxes, digital
television broadcasting, and an increasing number of consumer
electronics products.
The lawsuits were filed by Sisvel S.p.A. and Audio MPEG, Inc.,
who have the right to license the patents. Litigations for
patent infringement against Thomson are now pending and
progressing in Alexandria - Virginia, Mannheim - Germany, and
Milan - Italy. In this process, thousands of Thomson MP3
products have been detained by the customs authorities in
Germany and continue to be detained by customs following a
preliminary injunction issued by the Mannheim Court in Germany.
According to the complaints, Thomson markets and sells MP3
players, TV set top boxes, DVD players, and CD players using
MPEG audio compression covered by the patents of France Telecom,
TDF, Philips, and IRT, without a current license to practice
those inventions. Over 250 companies are licensed under these
patents and are paying royalties. Until recently, Thomson was
also licensed, but failed to renew their license in 2005.
The lawsuits seek royalties for past infringement, punitive
damages for willful infringement, attorney's fees, and
injunctions to permanently prohibit Thomson from selling MP3
players, TV set top boxes, DVD players, and CD players using
MPEG audio compression.
"By refusing to renew their license under the MPEG Audio
patents, Thomson has ignored its duty to respect intellectual
property of third parties. This led to the seizure of its
products by the Customs Authorities and made lawsuits necessary
in both the United States and Europe," said Gen. Richard I.
Neal, President of Audio MPEG, Inc. "Thomson's failure to take a
license is not only unfair to the owners and the inventors of
the patents, whose efforts and research have made this
technology possible, but also to the over 250 competitors of
Thomson who are meeting their intellectual property obligations
as licensees under these patents. Our actions both in the United
States and overseas are all about accountability and
responsibility."
According to John Paul, a partner in the law firm of Finnegan,
Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, "The US litigation
against Thomson is pending in one of the fastest moving Federal
trial courts in the United States, a court known as the "rocket
docket." Litigation in the US is focused on getting all of the
facts out in the open and that process consumes a tremendous
amount of time, energy, and expense. In the rocket docket the
consumption of these resources is even more intense because the
court requires that the litigation must be completed much faster
than in other courts."
Who are Sisvel and Audio MPEG?
Società Italiana per lo Sviluppo dell'Elettronica S.p.A (Sisvel)
is a patent management company that has become a leader in its
field with offices in Turin, Milan, and Hong Kong. It has the
rights to license a number of patent portfolios, including the
non-US patents in a portfolio relating to MPEG audio
compression. Originally established in 1982 as a joint venture
by the Italian television producers, it later acquired the
entire patent portfolio of Indesit and conducted a number of
successful licensing programs in various fields of consumer
electronics.
Audio MPEG, Inc. is a patent management company, located in
Alexandria, Virginia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sisvel
and has the rights to license the US patents in a portfolio
relating to MPEG audio compression.
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