This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
They’re not the only ones making that media, right? Or do they make the media for everyone and put other names like Memorex on the label?
There's a lot of companies that produce them, and at least a few big brand names that are making their own and for sure not just relabeling something else.
Don’t the other companies still have to license or at least pay royalties to Sony to make BD-R or that only for commercial discs?
No. Sony was one of 9 companies that started blu-ray in 2002. There are more now that can license production of it.
https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/News/Press/200205/02-0520E/
Unless I’m mistaken, and I probably am, the patents on blueray should have expired by now. Software side might be covered under copyright right though. Not sure if software can be copyrighted though tbh.
Software is copyrighted but nothing stops you from coding your own identical version. You just can't re-use any code from the original.
Not sure where you get this, but the standard is now ruled by Blu-ray Disk Association. There's no mention about patent. I've looked on the Wikipedia page and the only mention about royalty is about the video codec.
For now.
