INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
Component Supplier Non-Assertion & Technical Services Agreement
This agreement is required of manufacturers of integrated circuits ("ICs") that produce devices that include Rovi's technology for the encoding of copy protection signals on analogue video outputs. There is a currently a one-time initial fee of $25,000 associated with this agreement which covers Rovi's technology for interlaced video. There is currently an additional $5,000 fee for the inclusion of Rovi's copy protection technology for 525progressive and 625progressive analogue video. There are no royalties associated with the manufacture of these devices.
Detection Circuit Non-Assertion & Technical Services Agreement
The manufacture and sale of ICs that are capable of detecting the presence of Rovi analogue copy protection signals do not require an agreement with Rovi. To receive Rovi's detection specifications, have such ICs tested, receive certification services, and advertise the detect IC as Rovi certified, however, a company must have entered into this agreement. There is currently a one-time initial fee of $10,000 which is reduced to $5,000 for companies that have also signed the Component Supplier Non-Assertion Agreement. This agreement includes detection for both interlaced and progressive analogue video signals. There are no royalties associated with the manufacture of these devices.
PRODUCTS
DVD Player Manufacturing Licence - Annual
This licence applies to PCs, graphics cards and DVD players capable of activating the Rovi Process on content originating from a digital versatile disc or a pre-recorded digital video cassette. The current standard licence fee is $50,000 for the first year and $25,000 for each additional year. This licence may also permit the licensee to manufacture DVD products for Rovi-licensed OEM customers in any quantity and for non-Rovi-licensed OEM customers in quantities of up to 5,000 per year, per customer.
There is currently also a restricted version of this licence for $15,000 for the first year and $10,000 for each additional year. The restricted licence permits the manufacture of up to 15,000 DVD products per year and is territory-bound to Asia, North America or Europe. There are no royalties associated with either DVD Manufacturing Licence agreement.
DVD Player Manufacturing Licence - Perpetual
This licence applies to PCs, graphics cards and DVD players capable of activating the Rovi Process on content originating from a DVD disc. The current standard, one-time licence fee for new customers is $85,000. This licence may also permit the licensee to manufacture DVD products for Rovi-licensed OEM customers in any quantity and for non-Rovi-licensed OEM customers in quantities of up to 5,000 per year, per customer.
HD-DVD™ and Blu-ray™ Disc Player Manufacturing Licence - Annual
This licence applies to PCs, graphics cards, and Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD players capable of activating the Rovi Process on content originating from a Blu-ray or HD-DVD disc. The manufacturing licence for HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc players is not a stand-alone licence, and must be added to an existing DVD Manufacturing Licence agreement or incorporated into a new DVD manufacturing licence. The current standard licence fee is $15,000 for the first year and $10,000 for each additional year. This licence may also permit the licensee to manufacture DVD products for Rovi-licensed OEM customers in any quantity and for non-Rovi-licensed OEM customers in quantities of up to 5,000 per year, per customer.
DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc Player Manufacturing Licence - Perpetual
This licence applies to PCs, graphics cards, and DVD, Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD players capable of activating the Rovi Process on content originating from a DVD, Blu-ray or HD-DVD disc. The current standard, one-time licence fee for new licensees is $105,000. Licensees wishing to convert their existing DVD Manufacturing agreement to this type of agreement may pay a bit less. This licence may also permit the licensee to manufacture DVD products for Rovi-licensed OEM customers in any quantity and for non-Rovi-licensed OEM customers in quantities of up to 5,000 per year, per customer.
Converting an Existing DVD or HD-DVD and Blu-ray Player Manufacturing Licence to a Perpetual Licence
To benefit from this option, request more information.
Analogue Media Receiver (AMR) licence
This licence applies to products that convert analogue input, digitize the material (e.g., for storage or graphics enhancement purposes) and re-encode the content with the Rovi process upon conversion of the signal back to analogue video. There is currently a one-time initial fee of $75,000 for this licence plus a $.60 per unit royalty.
There is a mandatory certification test programme for these products and a $2,000 certification fee for each new product model.
Digital Media Receiver (DMR or Set-Top Box) licence
This licence applies to products that receive digital content originating from a system operator (i.e., cable, satellite, Internet) and respond to marking on the content to apply the Rovi Process to the analogue output. There is currently a one-time initial fee of $100,000 plus a $.60 per unit royalty.
There is a mandatory certification test programme for these products and a $2,000 certification fee for each new product model.
Digital Media Extender (DME) Agreement
This licence applies to products that receive digital content from a local area digital device such as a PC or set-top box and respond to marking on the content to apply the Rovi Process to the analogue output. An example of a product which might fall into a DME category is a portable video player. There is currently a one-time initial fee of $75,000 plus a $.60 per unit royalty.
There is a mandatory certification test programme for these products and a $2,000 certification fee for each new product model.
AMR, DMR, and DME Restricted Agreements
There is a restricted version of each of the AMR, DMR and DME agreements. The restricted agreement currently has a one-time initial licence fee of $25,000 plus a $1 per unit royalty. This licence is restricted to the manufacture of up to 25,000 products and can be upgraded at any time to the corresponding standard licence.
AMR, DMR, DME Combination Agreement
There is an agreement available for various combinations of the AMR, DMR, and/or DME product types. This agreement currently has a one-time initial fee of $125,000 plus a $.60 per unit royalty for DMR/DME and DMR/AMR combinations, or a one-time initial fee of $150,000 plus a $.60 per unit royalty for DMR/AMR/DME combinations.
There is a mandatory certification test programme for these products and a $2,000 certification fee for each new product model.
There is also a restricted version of this combination licence. The restricted agreement currently has a one-time initial licence fee of $10,000 plus a $1 per unit royalty. This licence is restricted to the manufacture of up to 25,000 products and can be upgraded at any time to the standard AMR, DMR, DME combination licence.
Restricted Technology Licence
This licence applies to products that include a Rovi-capable encoder, but do not make use of Macrovision's analogue copy protection process. This includes products that do not have an analogue video output and products that do have an analogue video output, but do not include the processing of copy-protected video content. There is no certification test programme for these products. There are currently two pricing options for this agreement:
- Option 1
Initial licence fee of $25,000 + a $.25 per product royalty
- Option 2
Initial licence fee of $10,000 + a $.50 per product royalty
System Operator Licence
This licence allows a system operator to apply the Rovi analogue video content protection technology to content by using Digital Media Receivers manufactured from licensed Rovi suppliers. There are various licence models for system operators which include perpetual (pre-paid unlimited use), per use (per transaction), and per subscriber licences. Contact your local Rovi representative for pricing and help in deciding which is best for you.
