Apple Computer said Monday that it would release QuickTime 6 late this summer, even though it has yet to resolve a licensing dispute over a new file format it plans to adopt.
Apple, which is building QuickTime 6 around the MPEG-4 file format, is one of several tech companies that balked at a licensing agreement that would require many of those that broadcast using the format to pay a royalty.
In February, Apple delayed QuickTime 6 because of the dispute.
Apple said there has been progress from MPEG LA, which licenses the format, but said that a final deal has not been worked out.
"It just means we're very hopeful," Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller said in an interview. Schiller said things were "moving in the right direction."
Apple plans to release QuickTime 6 as part of an update, code-named Jaguar, to its Mac OS X operating system.
Discuss: Despite hang-up, QuickTime 6 launch set
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