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Via Licensing and Barnes & Noble Settle Patent License Dispute Over NOOK® Tablets
[March 17, 2015]

Via Licensing and Barnes & Noble Settle Patent License Dispute Over NOOK® Tablets


Via Licensing Corporation and Barnes & Noble, Inc. have settled litigation concerning the use of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) technology in Barnes & Noble's NOOK® line of products. In late 2010, Barnes & Noble licensed AAC patent rights from Via's AAC patent pool comprised of 11 leading AAC standard essential patent owners under the AAC Patent License Agreement. Via filed suit against Barnes & Noble in 2013 for breach of the AAC Patent License Agreement and declaratory judgment. In the settlement, Barnes & Noble acknowledged that Via reasonably exercised its discretion in classifying the NOOK Color, NOOK Tablet, NOOK HD, and NOOK HD+ tablets under the AAC Patent License Agreement as consumer products that are subject to the standard rates. Barnes & Noble also acknowledged that the terms of theAAC Patent License Agreement are reasonable. Barnes & Noble has also agreed to pay royalties owed under the AAC Patent License Agreement.



"Via is very pleased with the outcome of the case," said Roger Ross II, President of Via. "As an independent patent pool administrator offering the AAC Patent License Agreement to the market, Via is committed to ensuring compliance with its terms by all of its licensees."

Through its AAC patent pool, Via offers a license to the AAC patent portfolios of industry leading companies that include AT&T Corp., Dolby Laboratories, Ericsson, Fraunhofer IIS, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Microsoft (News - Alert) Corporation, NEC Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, INC., Orange SA, Panasonic Corporation, and Sony Corporation, the key innovators of the AAC audio compression standard that is widely used in broadcast, consumer electronics, mobile, automotive and personal computer products, worldwide.


About Via Licensing Corporation

Via Licensing Corporation is dedicated to the development and administration of licensing programs for mandated, de facto, and emerging standards on behalf of innovative technology companies in the audio, broadcast, wireless, and automotive markets. For more information about Via Licensing Corporation, please visit vialicensing.com. Via Licensing Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, Inc. a company with more than 40 years of experience in technology licensing.


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