Forgent’s claim on JPEG technology began with the acquisition of a data compression patent from Compression Labs in 1997. The company issued a press release on its website earlier this month saying that it owned the patent covering the technology behind JPEG images. Forgent said that the devices covered by the patent included cameras, cell phones, camcorders, PDA’s and scanners. Following the issue of the press release, the JPEG committee said that it would rebuff any attempts to derive fees from the standard.
Two Japanese companies, one of which is believed to be Sony, have already agreed JPEG licensing deals with Forgent.
