Antitrust officials from the European Commission have launched an informal probe into the licensing practices of HD-DVD and Blu-ray developers, the two rival developers in the upcoming next-gen DVD format war, Reuters reports via The Wall Street Journal.The commission distributed “a letter earlier this month to the makers of HD-DVD and Blu-ray to request information about licensing,” a commission representative said, according to Reuters.Toshiba developed the HD-DVD format, and a handful of firms led by Sony, including Philips Electronics, Samsung and Sharp, created Blu-ray, according to Reuters.The two will likely soon clash in a battle to become the next widely used DVD format, assuming mainstream film lovers veer away from the traditional DVDs and embrace a new format. Though the commission did not specify which firms it contacted, Sony confirmed that it received a letter and that it is cooperating, Reuters reports.The commission is interested in whether the licensing strategies may violate European Union antitrust regulations, according to Reuters. The current probe is informal, and depending on what the commission finds, it may choose to launch an official investigation, Reuters reports.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe