MPEG LA, LLC announced that the Dusseldorf Appeals Court, Germany (Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf) recently pronounced its decision dismissing all 12 appeals filed by Greek DVD-Video disc replicator Digital Press Hellas S.A., formerly known as Odeon Cineplex S.A.

According to the statement, the unsuccessful appeals by Digital Press Hellas tried to overturn a series of corresponding previous verdicts issued by a German district court (Landgericht Düsseldorf) which found that Digital Press Hellas infringed MPEG-2 patents owned by CIF Licensing, LLC; GE Technology Development, Inc.; Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Panasonic Corporation; Sony Corporation; Thomson Licensing S.A.; The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York; and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC). Those MPEG-2 patents are also included in the MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License offered by MPEG LA.

As a result of the appeal dismissals, enforcement of the verdicts will require Digital Press Hellas to cease its distribution of DVD-Video discs in Germany and to pay damages to the patent owners for past DVD-Video disc distribution in Germany.

The MPEG-2 Standard is the core technology underlying the efficient creation, transmission, storage and display of digitized moving images and sound tracks on which DVD and other digital technologies are based; and the DVD-Video Standard (DVD Specifications for Read-Only Disc, Part 3: VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS) requires DVD-Video discs to contain information formatted in accordance with the MPEG-2 standard.

For more information visit: www.mpegla.com