JPEG is short for the "Joint Photographic Experts Group,"
which comprises experts nominated by national standards bodies and
major companies to work to produce standards for continuous tone
image coding.
The best-known standard from JPEG is
IS
10918-1,
which is the first of a multi-part set of standards for still image
compression. A basic version of the many features of this standard
is what most people think of as JPEG – and this is where Forgent is
claiming a monopoly right.
The patent is owned by Compression Labs, which applied for it
in 1986, but never pursued royalties. Forgent subsequently acquired
Compression Labs and startled the computer industry in 2002 when it
announced that it would be seeking royalties relating to digital
image compression.
The suit, filed in the
US
District Court of the
Eastern District of Texas, follows a pre-emptive strike by
Microsoft, which filed suit on 15th April in a California Court,
asking the court to declare that it did not infringe on Forgent's
patent, and that the patent itself was invalid and
unenforceable.
"It's unfortunate that, despite Microsoft's recent inquiries
about licensing the patent, they chose to file a lawsuit, leaving
us no alternative but to assert infringement claims against it,"
said Richard Snyder, chairman and
CEO
of
Forgent.
Forgent has been down this road before, suing 44 other
companies for infringement of the JPEG patent. An action last year
targeted 31 companies including Apple,
IBM
, Adobe,
Gateway and Xerox.
To date, says Forgent, it has generated more than $100 million
from licensing the patent.
Microsoft has not yet commented on the suit.
