MPMan.com obtains Chinese patent
MPMan.com, a major portable audio device maker, said yesterday it has gained a patent in China related to MP3 players, boosting its brand recognition and offering new opportunities for Korean manufacturers.
MPMan.com said Chinese patent authorities finally granted a patent for its MPEG portable sound system technology. The company first filed an application for the technology in April 1998.
Since MPMan.com applied for patent immediately before the spin-off from its parent company Saehan Information System, the formal recipient of the patent rights are Saehan and its then technology partner Digitalcast.
MPMan.com officials said the final registration procedure will revise the names of the patent holders.
Meanwhile, DNNA jointly holds the patent for MP3 player technology as it acquired Sonicblue, which took over Digitalcast.
MPMan.com expects its market position will solidify this year as it can charge royalties for its MP3 technology used by Chinese MP3 player makers.
In January 2001, MPMan.com acquired a patent for MP3 technology from the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
MPMan.com now holds patents for MP3 player technology in Korea, the United States and China, at a time when a growing number of people are embracing the new digital music format and devices.
However, MPMan.com is currently under court receivership after failing to grapple with a liquidity crisis. MPMan.com, which pioneered MP3 player technology development, fell into a cash crunch after spending too much on marketing in the budding stage of the new digital player market.
MP3, or MPEG Audio Layer 3, is an audio compression technology that is part of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 specifications. Developed in Germany in 1991 by the Fraunhofer Institute, MP3 compress CD-quality sound by a factor of 12, while providing nearly the same quality. MP3 music files are played on software or a player that connects to a PC to transfer the files.
MP3 has made it easy to download quality audio from the Web very quickly, making it a worldwide auditioning system for new musicians and record labels.
Korean manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co., Reigncom, Digitalway and Cowon Systems Inc. now dominate the global MP3 player market, and MPMan.com's patent breakthrough is expected to help Korea to strengthen its position in the fast-growing sector.
Korean exports of MP3 players increased 44.2 percent during the first 10 months of the year, reflecting the enhanced quality of their products. Shipments during the January-October period stood at $128 million (1.53 billion won), compared with $88.9 million in the same period last year, said officials at the Electronic Industries Association of Korea.
By Yang Sung-jin
(insight@heraldm.com)
2003.12.31
AI
