Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/07/28/ec_queries_blu-ray_hddvd_makers/
Europe demands Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD licensing details
Competition query?
28th July 2006 10:20 GMT
While the consumer electronics and content industries worry that the battle between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD will set company against company to the disadvantage of all, Europe's antitrust officials appear to fear that having two rival high-definition video disc formats isn't competition enough.
To whit, the European Commission has asked the consortia behind both technologies to detail their intellectual property licensing terms, the BBC reports (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5221658.stm?www.reghardware.co.uk).
The EC is seeking reassurances that neither group will restrict access to their technologies, either to hardware makers or to disc suppliers. Not that they're likely too - successfully winning the hearts and minds of consumers will largely depend on widening access to a given format as much as possible.
With the exception of an HD DVD-equipped notebook from Toshiba (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/03/08/euro_hd-dvd_roll-out/), neither next-generation optical disc format has yet to be launched in Europe, though that's likely to change before Christmas. At the very least, Sony will be pushing its PlayStation 3 as a Blu-ray player when the console launches in November.
In a statement, Sony said the EC gave it no indication that the organisation is investigation any complaint into the new formats, or that officials have any specific antitrust worries. ®