DTV Petition has FCC Thinking Reform

The Federal Communications Commission has invited the public to comment on a petition asking for reform of the DTV receiver patent license sharing system.  The petition was made by the Coalition United to Terminate Financial Abuses of the Television Transition (CUT FATT), and it alleges the current practice of unmonitored patent licensing of gouging American digital television makers, thereby increasing DTV retail prices.

As reported by Ars Technica, the petition filed on January 2nd says “Licensors in the United State operate freely in an unregulated ‘Wild West’ without supervision or accountability.  As a result, American consumers pay $20 to $30 per television for intellectual property rights that cost about $1 elsewhere in the world.”  The group predicts that the digital transition in the United States will overcharge consumers by a billion dollars.

The group also points to Japan and Europe, where patent pool systems make licenses available and cheap for manufacturers.  “There is no uncertainty, no cause for endless litigation, and most important, there is no price gauging,” the petition stated.

The group hopes to get new policies from the FCC, that would make royalty demands for essential patents violate reasonable and non-discriminatory standards.  Therefore, a company would be fined if their royalty demands exceeded international or industry comparables by more than 50%.  The group also wants the burden of proof of proving reasonableness to fall on the patent holders.

If you would like comment on the CUT FATT petition, you have until April 27.  To file comments you need the docket number (09-23), and the available form.