MUMBAI: The DVD6C licensing group (DVD6C), has announced that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd has joined its worldwide joint licensing program which provides manufacturers of DVD products the ability to license essential DVD patents owned by the group's members.

DVD6C has licensed DVD patents owned by its member companies since June 1999 (adding licensing for DVD-recorders, DVD-audio players, DVD-R, -RW and -RAM drives, DVD-audio, -R, -RW, -and -RAM discs and cases in September 2003). DVD6C's licenses cover patents owned by the 6C member companies that are essential for products that comply with the DVD-format specifications defined by the DVD forum, asserts an official release.

The company claims that membership of Samsung in the joint licensing program will benefit existing and future licensees of DVD6C, who will obtain a license to additional essential patents for the DVD products at no additional charge.

Interested parties will remain free to negotiate individual license agreements with DVD6C's member companies, rather than taking licenses from DVD6C. The member companies have committed to provide such licenses under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, adds the release.

The existing list of DVD6C members include eight developers of DVD technology and formats -- Hitachi Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.