Aptina signs cross license with Sony

Aptina (San Jose, CA, USA) has signed a patent cross-license agreement with Sony (Tokyo, Japan) which provides each company with access to the other's patent portfolio.

Aptina and Sony have built patent portfolios that include image sensor patents covering image capture and processing methods. These technologies are fundamental to the world’s growing image sensor industry, with sales of over two billion units annually, and found in almost every consumer electronics device.

Aptina began within Micron Technology in 2001 with acquisitions of early CMOS imaging companies Photobit and then Avago Technologies' image sensor business. Aptina became an independent company in 2009.

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-- Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design