July 29th 2006

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Face Potential European Probe

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According to reports, Sony and Toshiba have received letters from the European Commission asking them to further explain their licensing rules for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.

Although this falls some way short of an official antitrust investigation, it suggests that the EU has some cause for concern and that a full investigation is not out of the question if the answers they receive are not to their liking.

The nature of the potential breach of rules is unclear and even the European Commission are less than forthcoming. "We sent a letter earlier this month to the makers of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray to request information about licensing," said a spokesperson, sounding more like he was interested in manufacturing a Blu-Ray player himself than launching a damaging investigation.

Toshiba have not commented on the matter, but Sony have confirmed that a letter was received, although they go out of their way to stress the informal nature of the enquiry. "There are no indications of any complaint, nor of any antitrust concerns on the part of the Commission," they said. "Or anyone else," added the statement just to be clear.

Among the issues the EC could be looking into are the 'encouragement' of studios and tech companies to support either format or the use of a strong position in a related market to drive sales, such as Sony putting a Blu-Ray drive into the PS3.

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are only available in North America and Japan.