H.264 is obsolete. MPEG-LA is moving on to H.265, the new hotness. It is telling that MPEG-LA's sub-licensing for VP8 only covers one subsequent revision of the codec. If VPx+ is augmented with H.265'ish technology in order to stay competitive, we'll see a new round of fighting.
Both Microsoft and Apple have patents in the H.264 patent pool. It is in their interest for H.264 licensees to go through MPEG-LA; it is not in their interest to give away sublicenses.
Actually, neither make much revenue from that pool.
But, fine, pick someone else.
AFAIK, nobody has the right to sublicense all the H.264 patent rights to others.
This is one reason, for example, you have cameras and camcorders that ban professional use.
To be fair, Google did not get this either; this deal does not give them the power to sublicense H.264 royalty-free.
It gives Google the power to license VP8 to others without fear of patent suits from the MPEG-LA. But VP8 was already Google's codec to license. And they have spent years claiming it was not patent encumbered.
So basically it looks to me like Google is paying to do something they always claimed they could do anyway.
Yes, you are essentially correct.
However, my point was that nobody has the right to do this in the H.264 world, so it is in fact, still significantly different.
If Google have MPEG-LA $1million just to go away, then yes they probably won. A single patent case defence would cost them at least that much, plus they get to inoculate VP8 and VP9 against MPEG-LA patent pool FUD PR.
Without knowing the amounts involved, it's impossible to really say who "won". Google obviously got what they wanted: indemnity for the MPEG-LA patent pool for VP8 and future codecs based on it. Maybe that cost them $1billion, maybe it cost them $1million: we don't know.
Maybe I came from a different era, but the party that pays is generally considered the loser. Strategically, Google and MPEG-LA one. Google got the indemnification they swear they didn't need, and MPEG-LA got money and further proof that their patents were that strong that not even the mighty Google could ignore it.
This is the same strategy patent troll, rent seekers use. It doesn't matter if they get $1 or $1mm from Microsoft or Apple. To everyone outside the negotiations they are clearly the winner no matter how flimsy the evidence looks.
