Patent Pools, Patent Dealmaking and Outrageously Good Audio

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed I speak with Heath Hoglund, who until several years ago was Vice President of IP and Standards for Dolby. About 3 years ago Heath left Dolby and became President of Via Licensing Alliance, which we discuss in some detail in our conversation. And truth be told he really didn’t leave Dolby. Via administers patent pools and has historically been heavily invested in the audio arena, and with Dolby being one of the premiere audio innovators of all time it is hardly a surprise that Dolby has been a long time participating and is one of the major patent owners who participates in the patent pools administered by Via. 

One of the first things Heath did as President of Via was to work on merging with MPEG-LA, which was a patent pool administrator that was primarily focused on video related technologies. So, today, Via Licensing is a major player in both audio and video technologies. 

During our conversation we discuss wide ranging issues, from the inevitability that there will be some implementers who do not want to take a license and will require patent owners to litigate, to the changing landscape, particularly in China where companies have evolved from merely needing a license to also being a licensor, to the European Union working toward regulating SEPs, and much more. 

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