MIT has filed suit against Sony Electronics, Inc. for alleged infringements of patents relating to digital television. Five patents were asserted in the lawsuit, and MIT says it holds 13 other patents in the field.
MIT has reached license agreements for the patents with other industry leaders such as Toshiba, Samsung and Sharp. When negotiations with Sony broke down, the suit was filed.
This lawsuit heralds an increasing willingness of universities to aggressively license their patent portfolios and, if necessary, to file litigation. Many universities have huge patent portfolios and, as alumni support tightens in a down economy, are beginning to view their IP assets as promising sources of revenue.
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