Patent negotiation group MPEG-LA:

World licensing leader MPEG LA, LLC today announced a call for patents essential to the MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) standards for the purpose of offering the market efficient access to this important technology. Currently used in leading content delivery platforms, DASH adaptively streams audio and video content enabling continuous viewing without freezing or stuttering.

[…] MPEG LA President and CEO Larry Horn. “We invite all patent holders to participate.”

Jan Ozer:

How many companies considering the transition from Flash to HTML5 incorporated DASH-related content-royalties into their budgets? How many questioned whether or not DASH would be supported by every current browser? Though it is today, the specter of royalties could change that quickly.

The timing of this story didn’t allow for any industry reaction, but it’s going to be fascinating to watch over the next few days and weeks. At the least, it’s a minor speed bump in the Flash to HTML5 transition, but for some, it might also become a brick wall.