China, Taiwan CD-R makers balk at Philips' Veeza
12.08.2006
Philips has been frustrated in selling Veeza, its new licensing scheme for its CD-R patents, to makers of optical discs in China. To date, none of them are willing to accept the scheme, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Makers of CD-R discs in China, in order to have strong collective bargaining power, have commissioned the China Audio & Video Association (CAVA) to negotiate with Philips about Veeza on their behalf, the sources pointed out. After more than 10 rounds of talks, CAVA and Philips are still unable to reach a consensus, which implies that China makers will not accept Veeza for the time being, the sources indicated.
Philips' promotion of Veeza is faced with the same situation in Taiwan as well as China, and the reasons behind the unwillingness to accept the Veeza scheme are the same in both cases - the royalty rates are too high, while the scheme also requires compulsory disclosure of confidential business information, the sources explained.
According to chairman Der-ray Huang of the Taiwan Information Storage Association, at a recent meeting both China and Taiwan makers of CD-R discs had agreed to boycott Veeza until Philips improves its licensing terms.
Source: Digitimes
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