Google, Apple On Opposite Sides In Online Video Fight
SAN JOSE (KCBS) - A behind-the-scenes battle over dueling video technologies has attracted the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice.
On one side of the battle sits Apple and Microsoft, among other companies who joined together in an organization known as MPEG LA, which collects royalties for online video patents.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
On the other side of the fight is Google, which last year released an open-source video technology known as VP8.
According to published reports, MPEG LA has tried to quash VP8 by threatening lawsuits against companies that use it.
The DOJ has reportedly begun investigating the matter.
MPEG LA officials have claimed the VP8 video codec uses patents managed by the company.
Early this year, Google announced it would no longer support for MPEG LA's H.264 codec in its Chrome Browser.
MPEG LA officials have been quoted as saying they are ambivalent about which video format prevails.
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