MPEG-LA

In layman's terms, MPEG-LA is a conspiracy of companies with patent monopolies on ideas associated with compression of video and audio. MPEG-LA covers more than just that, but originally it was used as a central point for patent holders who wish to tax anyone out there playing videos and music. By creating a "standard" out of patent-encumbered formats, MPEG-LA managed to create a thicket standing in the way of access to people's personal video and audio recordings. Standards bodies are mere tools in this battle of Trojan horse tactics, where MPEG-LA members such as Microsoft and Apple elbow their competitors by imposing costs (e.g. on GNU/Linux) and also threatening to sue counterparts such as Ogg and WebM. Techrights has covered the subject quite a lot over the years and this page brings together some of the posts more relevant and more recent (2010 onwards) on the subject.

2017

 * Apple v Samsung Dominates the News, But Samsung Has Just Taken on MPEG-LA Using PTAB Inter Partes Reviews
 * Trolling Conglomerates MPEG-LA and Fortress Are Plotting to Start Another Round of Patent Shakedowns
 * Patent Troll MPEG-LA Expands From Software Patents to Patents on Life While USPTO is Virtually Headless

2013

 * When Antitrust Complaints Achieve Software Freedom
 * SFLC Refutes OSI President’s Claim, Says WebM Licence is Still Fine
 * WebM is No Ogg, It is Not Freedom-Respecting Anymore, Even in Countries That Have No Software Patents
 * MPEG-LA Ruined the Licence of WebM, Made it Less Freedom-Respecting
 * Google/Android Extorted Through MPEG-LA

2012

 * MPEG Cartel Stabs Apple in the Back

2011

 * Ogg Backer Strikes Back Against the MPEG-LA Cartel
 * BSA (Microsoft Front), MPEG Cartel (Backed by Microsoft and Apple), and Gates Foundation Under Scrutiny for Patent Play
 * US Justice Department Takes on the MPEG Cartel as IBM Distances Itself From Cartel Defenders
 * One Last Sellout From Novell (MPEG-LA, Microsoft Patent Traps)
 * Scaremongering Against Google — Not Technical Advantage — the Strategy of MPEG-LA and Microsoft
 * Lobbyists From Microsoft, Apple, and Nokia Are Backing Potential Patent Lawsuit Against Google/WebM
 * ES: BSA (Frente de Microsoft), MPEG Cartel (Con el respaldo de Microsoft y Apple), y la Fundación Gates, Bajo Escrutinio por su Juego de Patentes

2010

 * MPEG-LA Codecs and Microsoft Racketeering Challenge the Redistributability of Linux
 * Microsoft Florian Promotes MPEG-LA at the Expense of Free Software, Defends Intellectual Monopolies Too
 * Mozilla Avoids MPEG-LA’s Latest Poison Pill and Rejects Patents Just Like Samba Does
 * MPEG-LA Offers ‘Free’ Drugs (Read the Fine Print)
 * Patents Roundup: EU Patent Deform, MPEG-LA, OIN, New Zealand, and Patent Trolls
 * Simon Phipps: “MPEG-LA is a Parasite Using Standards Bodies as Its Host, Whether They Want it or Not.” (and a Rant About Banshee/Mono)
 * Google to Make WebM GPL Compatible — Claim
 * “We’re in the Era of Digital Video, and It’s a Mess,” –Steve Jobs, MPEG-LA Proponent/Lobbyist
 * Alexandre Oliva Explains Why the Patent Troll Larry Horn (MPEG Cartel) is Bluffing
 * Patent Troll (MPEG-LA) May Own Your Personal/Family Videos
 * Microsoft and MPEG-LA Called “Patent Trolls”, Antitrust Complaint Filed
 * Canonical Needs to Tell Ubuntu Users How Much It Paid MPEG-LA for Patent ‘Protection’
 * Apple and Microsoft a Threat to Culture (Data), Not Just Software (Tools)
 * MPEG-LA’s CEO Larry Horn and Bellow Bellows Are Patent Trolls
 * Microsoft Brings MPEG-LA-LA Land to the Web and Threatens GNU/Linux With Software Patent Lawsuits