ABSTRACT
Patent pooling as a concept is beneficial for the business but, as suggested in the previous paragraph, it requires a bit of maneuvering with regards to patents and their application. In the case of new technologies, patent pools became essential or even indispensable to achieve the required operational ease and convenience. One needs a standard-setting pool when the technology developed is interoperating with another set of patents. The technology is like a cascade effect. The Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) is a standard-setting group for television signals for broadcasting stations, cable television systems, and direct broadcast TV systems. This group also set the format for equipment that is used for such systems. This pooling arrangement of technology also works backwards, thereby allowing earlier systems to match the new one and thus allowing earlier media to be played on new systems. This offers ease of transition for the customer.
