Leading Taiwanese makers of optical disc drives (ODDs) are preparing for production of Blu-ray Disc and/or HD-DVD drives/players, but face a potential problem of having to rely on an outside supply of pick-up head (PUHs) since most of all patents for high-power laser diodes (LDs), a key component of PUHs, are owned by Japanese companies, according to local sources.

Japanese owners of the patents include Hitachi, Sharp, Pioneer, Sony, and Sanyo Electric, the sources indicated.

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