Royal Philips Electronics has revoked CD-R disc patent licenses for CMC Magnetics and Ritek, the top two producers of optical discs in Taiwan, as well as Prodisc Technology and Lead Data, two second-tier makers, according to a list of CD-R licensees published on Philips Intellectual Property & Standards' (PIPS') global website.As the article points out, this is most likely an attempt to get these manufacturers to accept Philips' Veeza licensing scheme. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes.
Philips' withdrawal of CD-R licensing was due to the Taiwan-based makers, except for Ritek, violating existing licensing contracts, industry sources in Taiwan cited Philips as saying. Ritek lost licensing because its contract with Philips expired in May of this year, the sources noted.
Update: Thanks to Digital Dolphin and RJW, we've learned that Ritek is now licensed under Philips' Veeza licensing scheme. At the same time, Prodisc does not seem to be licensed for CD's nor DVD's. You can check the status of both companies here.
