Zoran Prepares BD Chip after Settling with DTS

Integrated circuits manufacturer Zoran Corporation has announced that it has settled all outstanding litigation with DTS and has obtained a license for all DTS related technologies required for Blu-ray products. Zoran expects to roll out its integrated BD single-chip solution by the end of the year and to leverage its existing position in the DVD market to establish a leading position in the Blu-ray market.

On October 8, 2008, Zoran Corporation had filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against DTS, Inc., under the allegation that DTS had failed to license the algorithm under fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms, had abused its monopoly in the market for Blu-ray disc technology by demanding large, upfront royalty payments as a condition to negotiating license agreements with chip manufacturers, and had prevented Zoran's entry into the Blu-ray device market by threatening device manufacturers with lawsuits should they use parts from a nonqualified supplier like Zoran. According to Zoran, that had restrained competition among Blu-ray devices and chip makers, and prevented Zoran from entering the market for Blu-ray hardware.

“We are pleased to have reached a positive resolution to our dispute and litigation with Zoran. Importantly, the settlement provides for the continued protection of consumers, DTS licensees, and DTS' intellectual property, contributing to the healthy growth of the exciting high definition Blu-ray format. We believe that our investment in pursuing these matters was critical to support our long-term interests and those of our licensee partners, and are satisfied that the net result of the settlement will have a modestly positive impact on our financials,” commented Jon Kirchner, President and CEO of DTS, Inc. “We are also pleased to announce that Zoran is once again a licensee and look forward to certifying their integrated circuits as they become available.”