DigiTimes has reported that the licensing agreement between Quanta Storage and Philips will expire in October. According to their article, Quanta is currently in negotiations with a number of companies, and will most likely partner with Sony for their ODD patents.
The fact that Quanta Storage is looking to obtain a license from another company suggests that it will not continue licensing ODD patents from Philips, industry sources indicated. This is may be due to Philips charging higher royalty fees than companies such as Sony, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic) and Pioneer, the sources noted. For Quanta Storage, Sony would be the best partner among Japan-based candidates because Sony NEC Optiarc, an ODD joint venture between Sony and NEC, is very likely to release ODM/OEM orders to Quanta Storage if it becomes a licensee of Sony, the sources pointed out.
The article also hints that Quanta's decision may also be due to Lite-On's use of Philips' patents. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes.
