Google and MPEG LA Announce Agreement Covering VP8 Video Format

DENVER, CO, US -- March 8, 2013 -- Google Inc. and MPEG LA, LLC announced today that they have entered into agreements granting Google a license to techniques that may be essential to VP8 and earlier-generation VPx video compression technologies under patents owned by 11 patent holders. The agreements also grant Google the right to sublicense those techniques to any user of VP8, whether the VP8 implementation is by Google or another entity. It further provides for sublicensing those VP8 techniques in one next-generation VPx video codec. As a result of the agreements, MPEG LA will discontinue its effort to form a VP8 patent pool.

“This is a significant milestone in Google’s efforts to establish VP8 as a widely-deployed web video format,” said Allen Lo, Google’s deputy general counsel for patents. “We appreciate MPEG LA’s cooperation in making this happen.”

“We are pleased for the opportunity to facilitate agreements with Google to make VP8 widely available to users,” said MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn.

MPEG LA, LLC

MPEG LA is the world’s leading independent provider of patent licenses offering wide access to important technologies. MPEG LA developed modern day patent pools. By assisting users with implementation of their technology choices, MPEG LA offers licensing solutions that create opportunities for wide adoption and fuel innovation. MPEG LA’s original license for digital video compression helped produce the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history. It has become the template for addressing patent thickets. Today MPEG LA manages licensing programs consisting of nearly 8000 patents in 74 countries with more than 160 licensors and 5600 licensees. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.

Google Inc.

Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top Internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world.