OTO219_p16_21_BD_Licensing 6/4/09 13:51 Page 16 technology unwieldy or fail to fully take into account the BD production process. Finally, there is the cost, with cumulative licensing fees accounting for a substantial proportion of a BD disc’s manufacturing cost. BEFORE A CONTENT HOLDER CAN PUT CONTENT onto a BD disc and get it replicated, the holder needs to be licensed by the BDA licence entity.The BDA’s licensing activities include distributing the BD format books, logo guide and data, and issuing a compliance certification after a BD disc has undergone a stiff verification and testing process. There are several elements to the BD licensing scheme. Content holders, distributors and providers wanting to put content onto BD must take out a Content Participant Agreement, which costs $3,000 a year and runs for five years. There’s also a ‘light’ version that costs $500 a year and also runs for five years. There is no fee for the use of a Logo Licence Agreement, and there is an optional BD-Live Logo and Online Certificate Issuance Agreement, which incurs no charge, although there is a fee of $1,000 per private key. There are other BD licensing obligations. Disc replicators need to take out a BD-ROM mark interim agreement with Sony, Philips or Panasonic, while content providers must take out an AACS licence (see table, page 18). There’s also the option of taking out a BD+ licence for enhanced copy protection available from BD+ Technologies. Eric Carson, business unit manager, media manufacturing solutions, DCA, says:“The ROM mark is a nightmare – it’s the biggest pain point. Sony and Philips have different licences, so it’s not just about cost but what licensing terms you prefer.”The cost of a BD+ licence depends on the type of agreement. The actual Some fees have been reduced but is it enough? Counting the cost of Blu-ray licensing A number of issues need to be addressed if Blu-ray is to fulfil its potential. Key is the cost of obtaining the necessary licences and the time involved in doing so, writes George Cole “EVERYONE WANTS TO SEE BLU-RAY DISC THERE ARE THREE INEVITABILITIES IN LIFE: get the widest range of content possible to make it an death, taxes – and that anyone involved in a even more compelling format. ADOPTION EXPAND consumer electronics format will have to pay Bruce Nazarian, president of the International royalties and licence fees to manufacture product, Digital Media Alliance (IDMA), says BD licensing is “not WHILE MAINTAINING whether it’s hardware or software. So it’s no surprise necessarily overly complex, but it is more complex than that the Blu-ray Disc format attracts a fair number of licensing DVD, and has many a first-time BD publisher THE COPY AND IP licensors – exactly how many is uncertain, although slightly confused”. some think the number is at least 20. Everyone in the Rolf Hartley, senior vice president and general PROTECTION THAT AACS optical disc industry wants Blu-ray to succeed, manager for premium content applications at Sonic especially now that DVD margins are becoming Solutions, adds:“There are about 20 agencies governing BRINGS. BUT THE increasingly thin and more consumers are looking to Blu-ray licensing, covering device manufacturers, LICENCE AND FEE watch videos online or download them onto their PC. content holders and software vendors such as Sonic.” There are many factors that will determine the So what are the licensing issues and what is being STRUCTURE NEEDS TO success or failure of Blu-ray. One is the number of done to address them? The first is the sheer number of parties that are prepared to invest in the format. Part of parties that have their hands out requesting a licence BE SIMPLER AND LESS this investment includes licensing fees, but it also fee right along the BD chain. BD licensors can be includes the time needed to obtain the relevant divided into three groups: the Blu-ray Disc Association EXPENSIVE” licences. There is general agreement that the current (BDA), AACS, and miscellaneous patent holders of the ROLF HARTLEY, SONIC SOLUTIONS Blu-ray licensing process is unsatisfactory and that a technology used by BD, such as video codecs. A second number of issues need to be addressed if Blu-ray is to issue is the licensing process – some systems are 16 | one to one | April 2009 www.oto-online.com OTO219_p16_21_BD_Licensing 6/4/09 14:28 Page 18 technology An at-a-glance guide to BD licensing AACS is called a Content Provider Licence. For a one- time fee of $3,000, they will give you a licence number to work with Blu-ray replicators. The replicator cannot accept an order from anyone without this licence and associated licence number. So, now you have your licence and you are ready to replicate. “Well, not quite… When the material is sent to the replicator, you will be charged the following fees by the replicator (which are mandatory and, by the way, keep changing). First, you will be charged for the AACS Media Key that encrypts the content of the disc, and an AACS Content Certification for that title, followed by an AACS Order Processing fee. This is for every Blu-ray title and the average cost for all three is around $1,700. So, you have now spent $3,000 for the Content Provider Licence “THE AACS PROCESS IS SLOW AND EXPENSIVE FOR A CUSTOMER WITH ONLY A SHORT-RUN REQUIREMENT” Source: One To One Magazine GUY MARRIOT, IODRA BD licensing process is not too onerous and involves content holder is required to use AACS. CSS, for and you will be spending $1,700 for keys, certification downloading documents from the BDA website and example, is not required for DVD replication.” and processing per title. Now we are finally ready to completing the appropriate details, returning the Bob Orzack, vice president at Cine Magnetics and a replicate DVD Blu-ray – if you have any money left.” documents to the BDA – and then paying the licensing member of the American Independent Media Others are critical too, including Carson:“AACS is not fee on request. Manufacturers Association (AIMMA) licensing task so bad once you figure out the system, but you are force, says the AACS licensing process is “extremely expected to fill in a lot of paperwork and it’s still an THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ASPECT OF BLU-RAY difficult and expensive”. AACS licensing documents run expensive deal.” LICENSING is the mandatory requirement to use AACS to more than 100 pages. Guy Marriot, chairman of the International Optical on all BD-ROM titles, regardless of their target audience. In a company blog, Orzack outlined the difficulties Disc Replicators Association (iODRA), notes:“The AACS As Hartley explains:“Replicating a promotional (free) BD AACS presents to smaller content providers:“The process is slow and expensive for a customer with only title is certainly more expensive than DVD, because the simplest arrangement between the rights holder and a short-run requirement.” 18 | one to one | April 2009 www.oto-online.com OTO219_p16_21_BD_Licensing 6/4/09 13:52 Page 19 technology Bob Edmonds, vice president sales and marketing at regardless of the number of copies produced for each Eclipse Data, says:“The actual AACS licensing process version. AACS licensees also have to appoint registered isn’t that difficult; it’s a case of ‘sign here and send a agents in the US to deal with the legal documentation. cheque’.” He adds:“As well as purchasing the main Ayers says these additional elements add little to the licence, we also have to purchase keys for our software overall cost of an AACS licence, and in the long run, to be able to encrypt and decrypt images. The cost of actually save money:“ISAN is a useful element, the keys is not huge (about $100) but the although the pricing we can’t control. As for the administration fee is about $1,000-$1,500.What’s more, requirement to appoint an agent, well, that’s to make some of the keys have a limited lifetime, and after 18 sure that if there’s a dispute, AACS can address it as months they expire and you have to purchase new keys. cost-effectively as possible. If we had to use the courts it You have to make sure that your customers have the would be very costly and this would be reflected in our latest set of keys. It’s not so much the key cost, but the fees. As it happens, using an agent costs about a couple administration costs that make this process expensive.” of hundred of dollars a year – it’s not expensive.” Michael B Ayers, chair of the AACS business group But Ayers accepts that there are some issues with and manager of AACS LA, says:“AACS is only one part of the AACS licensing process, as Hartley points out:“When the many elements that are needed to go into BD disc you send a BD title for replication, you’ll be charged a production. However, we are very mindful of the content certificate of $500 per certificate for each glass concerns of smaller licencees, and pass on cost savings master, as well as an $800 AACS processing/handling in the form of reduced fees whenever possible.We have fee. If there’s an authoring error or you choose to change reduced fees for Content Certificates, for instance, twice anything on the disc for creative reasons, you’ll have to since our launch three years ago.” pay for a new content certificate when you resubmit the Ed Younger, Eclipse Data’s sales manager for Americas, title for replication.This can be expensive and is a real agrees that prices have fallen:“The early adopters [for concern for non-Hollywood content holders, because “BD LICENSING IS NOT Blu-ray] were the big studios.They are part of AACS LA check discs can often breed changes.” NECESSARILY OVERLY and see it as a necessary evil, but smaller independents Nazarian says it’s an issue that concerns his see the costs as a barrier for getting into Blu-ray.