Suddenly a JPEG Patent and Licensing Fee

Michael Long writes "Forgent Networks (www.forgentnetworks.com) has announced that it owns the software patent on JPEG compression technology, and has stated that it is "in contact" with computer, software, camera, and other digital imaging product manufacturers regarding licensing terms. This ambush of the digitial imaging industry will probably stand as the worst public relations nightmare a company can inflict upon itself."

Comments

Is it time to go to PNG then?

[fialar]

First a Burn All GIFS page, now what? A BurnAllJPEGS day? Any bets on how soon someone registers burnalljpegs.org?

-F-

Full text of the press release

[tibbetts]

INVESTOR RELATIONS
News

Forgent (ticker: FORG, exchange: NASDAQ) News Release - 11-Jul-2002

Forgent Networks Clarifies Licensing Arrangement

AUSTIN, Texas, Jul 11, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Forgent(tm) Networks Inc. (Nasdaq:FORG) today clarified its licensing program regarding Forgent's JPEG data compression technology, owned by its subsidiary Compression Labs Inc., embodied in U.S. Patent No. 4,698,672.

JPEG is a standardized image compression mechanism and is designed for compressing either full-color or gray-scale still images.

Forgent has the sole and exclusive right to use and license all the claims under the '672 patent that implement JPEG in all "fields of use" except in the satellite broadcast business. Forgent's "fields of use" for licensing opportunities include digital cameras, digital still image devices, personal digital assistants (PDA's), cellular telephones that download images, browsers, digital camcorders with a still image function, scanners and other devices used to compress, store, manipulate, print or transmit digital images.

Forgent and a national law firm, who has made and continues to make a significant investment to develop Forgent's IP licensing program, are the sole beneficiaries of the patent license revenue.

"We wanted to ensure the investment community and the general public are clear about the terms of our valuable JPEG data compression technology, one of the many technologies we have in our patent portfolio," stated Richard Snyder, chairman and chief executive officer at Forgent. "We are in ongoing discussions with other manufacturers of digital still cameras, printers, scanners and other products that use JPEG technology for licensing opportunities."

About Forgent

Forgent Networks provides enterprise video network software and services to improve ease-of-use, reliability and manageability of video networks. Video Network Platform (VNP) is the industry's leading video network management software that improves quality of service and cost-of-ownership for multi-vendor, multi-protocol video networks. Forgent's professional services, which have been contracted by thousands of companies, ensure the successful planning, operation and maintenance of video networks. For more information, call 866/276-FORG (3674), or visit www.forgentnetworks.com.

This release may include projections and other forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties and as such, actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include rapid changes in technology, changes in customer order patterns or order mix, the ability to collect certain foreign receivables, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, the intensity of competition, the cost and availability of certain key components, the company's ability to manage product transitions and inventory levels, product pricing pressures, sudden or unexpected changes in demand for videoconferencing systems, litigation involving intellectual property, other issues, and the ability to consummate certain divestiture transactions. Additional discussion of these and other risk factors affecting the company's business and prospects is contained in the company's period filings with the SEC.

CONTACT: Forgent, Austin
Forgent Media Relations:
Hedy Baker, 512/437-2789
hedy_baker@forgent.com

or Forgent Investor Relations:
Alexa Coy, 512/437-2678
alexa_coy@forgent.com

Lifetime of patent?

[suso]

Don't patents have a lifetime of 17 years? I may be wrong on that number. But if is 17 years then that means that it expires in 2003. Maybe they figure that they can milk the royalties for the last year they have the patent.

Fourier Transforms and Run-length encoding.

[Xeriar]

Part 1:
1. A method for processing digital signals, where the digital signals have first values, second values and other values, to reduce the amount of data utilized to represent the digital signals and to form statistically coded signals such that the more frequently occurring values of digital signals are represented by shorter code lengths and the less frequently occurring values of digital signals are represented by longer code lengths, comprising,

forming first runlength code values representing the number of consecutive first values of said digital signals followed by said second value,

forming second runlength code values representing the number of consecutive first values of said digital signals followed by one of said other values.

---

6. A method for processing input signals to reduce the amount of data utilized to represent the input signals, the steps comprising,

processing the input signals to form processed signals where the processed signals are digital numbers having first values, second values, and other values,

coding each digital number to form statistically coded signals such that the more frequently occurring values in the digital numbers are represented by shorter code lengths and the less frequently occurring values of coded signals are represented by longer code lengths, said coding including,

forming first runlength code values representing the number of consecutive first values followed by said second value in a digital number,

forming second runlength code values representing the number of consecutive first values followed by one of said other values in the digital number.

---

Fourier Transform and Run-Length encoding. They patented an idea, and they don't even give a method. The fact that the method involved was one of the most widely used mathematical tools seemed to have slipped by the PTO.

Re:They should do well with this...

[Bonker]

better image quality? you just finished saying png is lossless, and jpg is lossy. how can it be better image quality? its WORSE image quality. but at a much better file size.

Get yourself a reasonably noisy, graidient toned image. Any given photograph will do. Resize it in the editor of your choice, Photoshop, PSP, the GIMP, or any of a dozen others. Then, set yourself a reasonable filesize, like about 90k for a full-screen image.

Save it as a jpg, reducing the quality enough so that it fits within your target filesize. Now save it as a png, reducing the color depth enough to get as close to 90k as you possibly can.

You probably *won't* be able to compress a full screen image with PNG to 90k without only using 2 colors, but get as close as you can. Now examine the two images, each of which should have *some* distortion, regardless of the fact that PNG is lossless at 24 and 32 bit color depth. This is because PNG is *NOT* lossless at lower bit-depths and has to dither color information just like GIF.

Despite the fact that the two files will be approximately the same file size, the jpeg will look much better and clearer even if it is much smaller than the jpeg.

If you don't beleive me, please see the following two files I've created for demonstration purposes:

http://www.furinkan.net/amethyst.png

http://www.furinkan.net/amethyst.jpg

Since Adobe's PNG library is not as efficient at compression as some out there, I've given the PNG image 20 extra K or so on the jpeg. As you can see, the jpeg is flawless unless you start looking at it in depth on a pixel-by-pixel basis while the PNG image is visibly flawed.