Richard Davies wrote: The UK has a good crop of technology pioneers in cloud computing - for example ElasticHosts, FlexiScale, Flexiant, OnApp - and also some strong government initiatives such as G-Cloud.
We will have to see whether this kind of technical leadership converts into swift mass-market adoption or not.
MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in alternative one-stop patent licenses,
today announced the offering of a new MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License
that will provide uninterrupted coverage for the life of the MPEG-2
essential patents at reduced royalty rates beginning January 1, 2010.
“MPEG LA and the MPEG-2 Licensors are committed to assuring that our
MPEG-2 License continues to be responsive to the needs of our customers
and the marketplace, and the new MPEG-2 License provides further
affirmation of that objective,” said Larry Horn, MPEG LA President and
CEO.
From the later of January 1, 2010 or the execution date of the new
License, the royalty rate for each MPEG-2 Decoding, Encoding and
Consumer Product (as defined in the new License) will be US $2.00, down
from the current $2.50, and royalties for MPEG-2 Packaged Medium (e.g.,
DVD Video Discs) will be reduced to US$0.0176 during 2010, and US$0.016
after 2010.
MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses, enabling
users to acquire worldwide patent rights necessary for a technology
standard or platform from multiple patent holders in a single
transaction as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. Wherever
an independently administered one-stop patent license would provide a
convenient marketplace alternative to assist users with implementation
of their technology choices, the licensing model pioneered and employed
by MPEG LA may provide a solution. Among MPEG LA’s licenses is a patent
pool for MPEG-2 digital video compression that has helped produce the
most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history. The
MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License, which includes more than 870 MPEG-2
essential patents in 57 countries, has more than 1,600 licensees
accounting for most MPEG-2 products including set-top boxes, DVD
players, digital television sets, personal computers and DVD Video Discs
in the current world market. MPEG LA is an independent licensing
administrator; it is not related to any standards agency and is not an
affiliate of any patent holder. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.