HDMI Licensing Administrator (HDMI LA) has been managing licenses for the well-renowned High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI®) since its first specification was released in 2002. The organisation, which recently announced the upcoming release of Version 2.2 of the HDMI Specification (January 6, 2025 HDMI LA press release), is headed up by CEO, Chairperson and President Rob Tobias. The specification will be available for licensing and downloading from Q2.
Prior to being appointed head of HDMI LA in 2015, Mr. Tobias held an array of positions across several different companies. He started out as an engineer, doing time-division multiple access for satellite communication systems, which then became foundational technology for digital cellular communications, 2G, 3G, and so on. From there, he moved into product marketing at semiconductor firm LSI Logic, where he promoted the MIPS RISC microprocessor architecture that went into various systems, such as the Sony PlayStation 1. In 2006, Mr. Tobias joined Silicon Image, the primary inventor of the HDMI interface, where he was involved in the standardization of connectivity specifications – before being appointed President of Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) in 2014, which enabled smartphones to connect to televisions.
At the Via Licensing Alliance Business Summit in Shanghai last month, Mr. Tobias sat down with ip fray to discuss his impressive career, the past decade at HDMI LA, and the opportunities and challenges that China, and Asia in general, have brought for the company.
Do you think a business background is necessary in IP licensing?
Whether you come from an engineering or legal background, understanding the business aspects is the most important thing to ensure a successful licensing entity – whether you’re licensing trademarks or patents. HDMI LA has a comprehensive license that includes patents, specification copyrights and trademarks all in one comprehensive license. I’ve been involved a lot in interfaces, standards, and things of that nature. A lot of times, people in my position who come up through the legal side of IP licensing. My background is that I have an engineering degree and MBA, and my career has mostly been in marketing and business development. I understand the business side a lot, but I employ many lawyers, and while I don’t have formal legal training, I have learned a lot about the legal aspects of IP licensing that way.
How do you leverage your experience from previous roles in your current post?
My engineering background really helps me with marketing and promoting the HDMI specifications and understanding the engineers and what they want to “geek out” over. My marketing background then serves as a bridge, helping me simplify the messaging to consumers – and really communicate to them the benefits of buying new devices with this next-generation interface on it. Our sister organization, HDMI Forum, develops the specifications but then it is up to HDMI LA to market and license it to the industry. So my background really helps me work with the HDMI Forum, our Adopters and consumers.
How would you describe your approach to leadership?
I have really shaped HDMI LA around hiring very good individuals who are proven in their respective fields. I give them guidance and set the strategy but also give them a lot of free reign in how to implement that strategy. Given how dispersed our team is – some are based in the headquarters in Silicon Valley, but the others are based in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong – I try to bring small groups together and do team events so people feel included and feel this is an organisation they want to work for. I try to generate a family culture.
What goals did you set out for yourself when you were appointed President of HDMI LA, and how have those goals fared since?
When I first came on board, HDMI LA was in the process of spinning out from Lattice Semiconductor to become an individual organisation. Any time you are part of a large corporation, you have limitations. So after that, the goal was to build a world-class licensing organization which we started by significantly increasing resources – both financial and personnel – to grow the number of licensees around the world and the royalties and annual fees we were able to collect. At the time, we only had one person in each of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Shenzhen. But today we have 25 employees, with more than half of those based in Asia, including Shanghai and Beijing, too. The number of Chinese licensees was also a fraction of what we have today. Overall, in the last decade, we’ve doubled the number of licensees we have and more than doubled our licensing revenues. [HDMI LA has over 2,000 HDMI adopters (adopters page)].
So, our goals are going well. We’ve far exceeded what anyone could have predicted back then.
What would you like to see HDMI LA achieve in the next 5-10 years?
We want to continue the success we’ve had. We’ve significantly enhanced the brand value. So, our largest and most important IP assets are the HDMI marks including the logo and word mark. We’ve also registered the unique shape of the connector and the receptacle as trade dress. We want to continue to enhance our trademark portfolio. We also have a cable certification program that has unique IP as well – the cables have to pass certification testing at an authorized test center and we do field audits to ensure high-quality cables reach the marketplace. We have anti-counterfeit labels on these cables so they can easily be identified by consumers. Our goal is to increase our trademark portfolio, strengthen it and protect it against counterfeiters. We also invest a lot of money in anti-counterfeit programs.
What opportunities has Asia brought you?
When I started in the industry, Japan was the leader in the consumer electronics space. Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi and Toshiba, for example, were leading the way from the conversion of analog tube TVs to digital flat panel TVs and that’s how HDMI really intersected that tech trend and grew. Then came the Koreans – specifically, LG and Samsung. China then invested across the industry, from panel manufacturers to motherboard makers, and then brands such as Skyworth, TCL, and Haier emerged. We’ve been engaging with China since the very beginning – watching it transform with its own IP, innovations and brands.
What was one of your biggest challenges?
In 2013, HDMI LA, Qualcomm and Dolby, among other major tech companies, received an inquiry by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) for alleged anti-competitive activities. That was a huge challenge. We were never found in violation of antitrust rules but the NDRC directed us to collaborate with the China Video Industry Association (CVIA) to come to a win-win solution. [During that time, the NDRC initiated more than 16,000 cases involving alleged price-related conduct and issued fines of more than 7.9 billion Chinese yuan ($1 billion) (August 2015, Melbourne Law School) – but HDMI LA was able to settle its case amicably.] CVIA, whose membership is made up of all the major Chinese brands in the consumer electronics and PC world, has become a critical partner of ours – it’s how we were eventually able to grow our business in China, as well as educate companies on respecting HDMI IP.
Any advice on striking deals with Chinese companies?
Have a presence in the marketplace. You need to engage with not only people and brands but also the associations that represent them. Have conversations about how both parties can have a “win-win”. That term is thrown around a lot in China, but it’s very important. It can’t be one-sided. If they see the value behind the IP, then it’s a whole different story to: “I’m here to collect money from you whether you like it or not.” It’s taken us over a decade of hard work to get to a place where we’re well understood and respected.
What about new and emerging Asian markets?
With the new Administration in the U.S. and the implementation of new tariffs, there continues to be a reshuffling of supply chains. So we’ve seen some manufacturing moved to Mexico and Vietnam due to prior tariffs and now manufacturers are trying again to determine how to optimize their supply chains. India has been especially invested in trying to build up domestic manufacturing. But APAC regions like India and Vietnam are more challenging for IP licensing and enforcement than China, for example, which has really invested a lot in both its laws and government organisations and corporations to protect IP. We’re very happy with all the progress they’ve made.
The terms HDMI, HDMI High-Definition Multimedia Interface, HDMI Trade Dress and the HDMI Logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc.