DENVER, CO, US – December 11, 2009 – The Supreme Court of the State of New York has denied a motion by Audiovox Electronics Corporation and Audiovox Corporation (“Audiovoxâ€) to reargue and/or renew MPEG LA’s motion for partial Summary Judgment, granting MPEG LA the right to audit Audiovox’s books in accordance with the terms of MPEG LA’s MPEG-2 and 1394 license agreements.
The Court rejected Audiovox’s motion based on the fact that the audit language in the parties’ two license agreements is clear and not limited by their contractual dispute concerning what royalties are owed to MPEG LA.
MPEG LA sued Audiovox for breach of contractual obligations as a Licensee to MPEG LA’s MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License and 1394 Patent Portfolio License in December 2007.
MPEG LA, LLC
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 one 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 1500 licensees accounting for most MPEG-2 products in the current world market. DVD Video Discs are encoded with MPEG-2 video data, and every DVD player contains an MPEG-2 decoder. In addition, MPEG LA licenses patents that are essential for the IEEE 1394 high speed transfer digital interface; the 1394 Patent Portfolio License, which includes 270 patents in 22 countries, has more than 350 licensees. 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.