Following earlier criticism of the pricing scheme for the patents necessary for OMA DRM, MPEG LA said today is would cut the rates to 65 cents per handset (down from $1) and 25 cents per subscriber per year, instead of 1 percent of every transaction involving content with the DRM.
The cuts represent some savings, but the change on transaction fees may still worry operators, and could not bring a unified mobile DRM standard any closer. The per-subscriber charge may be too much to stomach for carriers, and leaves open the possibility that someone could come in and offer DRM technology royalty-free to make money back somewhere else, such as through their own download shop.