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Agreement Package Recipients

This secure section contains all of the documentation available to holders of an Information Package Recipient License.

 Ultrium Licensing
Open Licensing
To better serve the needs of customers in a tape storage market that can seem complicated and confusing, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Quantum (the Technology Provider Companies or TPCs) have developed Linear Tape-Open (LTO) Technology and the Ultrium tape format specifications. To answer industry calls for open tape format specifications, the companies are making licenses available to enable others to provide Ultrium tape mechanism and tape cartridge products.

 Description of Documents

Each license package contains one or all of the following types of documents:


Format Specification Documentation
Provides the technical information about the format necessary to develop mechanisms and cartridges that interchange between products of the same format.

License Documentation
Provides additional technical information about tolerance interdependencies and interchange verification testing, and also presents a conceptual overview of the design.

The Trademark Style Guide
Will describe the use of the Ultrium trademarks and logos.


 Types of Packages



Ultrium Tape Mechanism License Package
Contains the interchange specifications for the tape mechanism and tape cartridge, supplemental information about the format, a limited license to the necessary tape mechanism TPC IP and trademarks, and the Trademark Style Guide.

Ultrium Tape Cartridge License Package
Contains the interchange specifications for the tape cartridge, supplemental information about the format, a limited license to the necessary tape cartridge TPC IP and trademarks, and the Trademark Style Guide.

Ultrium Specification Document
Contains the interchange specifications for tape mechanism and tape cartridge.


 License Process


A potential licensee should first contact the LTO Program via and request a license and additional information if needed. Then the licensing administrator will send a confidential disclosure agreement that the potential licensee will sign and return.

The licensing administrator will then send the appropriate licensing agreements to the potential licensee. These agreements must be completed and returned to the licensing administrator along with the appropriate payment. After receiving the signed licensing agreements, the licensing administrator will send document packages for each license purchased.

Guide to Package Selection
With the purchase of any of the following packages, the licensee receives the "basic package" with copies of the 8 Channel Format Specification for Ultrium and the Data Compression Format Specification. Additional documentation, IP rights, and fees vary with the type of license purchased.

TAPE CARTRIDGE LICENSES
If you are interested only in designing Ultrium tape cartridges, the respective Tape Cartridge License is sufficient. In addition to the Format Specification documents, you will receive the Ultrium Tape Cartridge License Document and the Trademark Style Guide. You will also receive the necessary IP rights for the tape cartridge from the TPCs.

TAPE MECHANISM LICENSES
This type of license enables the licensee to design Ultrium tape mechanisms. In addition to the Format Specification documents, you will also receive the Ultrium Tape Cartridge License document, the Ultrium Tape Mechanism License document, and the Trademark Style Guide. You will also receive certain essential IP rights for the tape mechanism from the TPCs.

FORMAT SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT PARTICIPANT
The documentation you will receive in the basic package is sufficient for your company to build compliant products. However, your company will need to independently acquire any patent or other intellectual property rights of the TPCs or third parties necessary to produce the Ultrium tape cartridge or tape mechanism. If you are interested in investigating the feasibility of a format specification for your company, this type of agreement provides the opportunity to review a format specification with a minimal investment.

 LTO Technology Documentation
(individual documents are not available separately)

Compliance Verification
In an effort to promote interchangeability of tape cartridges, the TPCs are enlisting the services of a third party verification test company to perform specification compliance verification testing. These tests will be required annually for all companies that use the logo. For more information on licenses, please contact the LTO Program via email via .

 Manufacturers' Group Meetings


Did You Know What You Are Missing?
If you sign and return your license agreements, with your payment, sooner than one month before an LTO Manufacturers' Group Meeting you will receive an invitation to attend this event:

Next Meeting:
The next series of licensee meetings are tentatively set to take place:

When: November 2007
Where: Las Vegas, NV USA
Nearest Airport: McCarran International Airport (LAS)

Previous Meetings
The following meetings for all classes of licensee have been held:

July 13, 2007

San Francisco, CA USA

February 16, 2007

Phoenix, AZ USA

November 14, 2006

Las Vegas, NV, USA

June 27, 2006

San Diego, CA USA

March 9, 2006

Miami , FL USA
November 4, 2005 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
July 21, 2005 San Diego, CA USA
March 10, 2005 Newport Beach, CA USA
December 2, 2004 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
September 2, 2004 San Diego, CA USA
June 18, 2004 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
March 16, 2004 Phoenix, Arizona USA
November 20, 2003 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
June 13, 2003 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
March 4, 2003 Phoenix, Arizona USA
November 21, 2002 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
August 28, 2002 Costa Mesa, CA USA
June 14, 2002 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
January 21-22, 2002 San Diego, California USA
October 15-16, 2001 Chicago, Illinois USA
July 17, 2001 Seattle, WA USA
April 24, 2001 New Orleans, LA USA
October 25-26, 1999 Scottsdale, Arizona USA
August 12-13, 1999 Torrance, California USA
May 12-13, 1999 Bellagio Hotel - Las Vegas, Nevada USA
May 11, 1999 "By Invitation" Event
Bellagio Hotel - Las Vegas Nevada USA
March 16-17, 1999 Torrance, California USA
December 16-17, 1998 Torrance, California USA
October 1, 1998 Torrance, California USA
July 23, 1998 Torrance, California USA
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