Under the stipulations of the agreement, IBM approved Level 3 licenses to in the region of 42,000 pending and issued patents which cover a broad range of telecommunications services and technologies.

In turn, Level 3 has furthermore granted IBM licenses to those of its in excess of 850 pending and issued patents, covering a wide assortment of information handling systems. The licenses will last as long as the lives of the respective patents, say the companies. Other conditions of the cross-license agreement were not revealed.

Dan Cerutti, IBM’s general manager of intellectual property stated “IBM enjoys a widely recognized reputation of innovation and invention for technologies related to telecommunications, networking, media and entertainment. With this cross license, we look forward to deepening our relationship with Level 3, and reaping with them all the benefits of collaboration.”

Level 3 says that via this extended relationship, it serves as the principal supplier of standard and high-definition video services to NHL headquarters and high-speed Internet access from NHL headquarters to each of the League’s 30 venues in North America.

Under the terms of the agreement, Level 3 will be providing its Vyvx services to facilitate the acquirement and backhaul of all broadcasted NHL games. The company has additionally built on-net access to the NHL’s new headquarters to provide high-speed Internet access and managed live video solutions to augment the NHL’s capacity to receive and send high-quality video content, says the company. NHL headquarters will primarily be able to receive and archive 10 live games simultaneously in the highest quality format, with the capability to scale up to 20 live events at once.

“We are pleased to be working with Level 3, to assist us in managing our event content and network infrastructure consistently across all NHL venues,” says Peter DelGiacco, NHL executive VP and chief technology officer. “With a comprehensive solutions portfolio and proven content delivery expertise, Level 3 will help us to meet growing consumer demand and provide viewers with a high-quality broadcast experience.”