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MPEG LA Announces Effort to Facilitate HD DVD Patent License


    MPEG LA, LLC, world leader in one-stop technology standards patent
    licensing, today issued a call for patents and patent applications
    that are essential to the HD DVD Standard in order to facilitate
    creation of a joint HD DVD patent license.

    "Continuing in its mission to respond to the market's need for
    fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory access to patents essential to
    defined technologies, MPEG LA is pleased to accept an invitation to
    facilitate this effort so that users may have the benefit of a
    convenient marketplace licensing alternative to assist them with
    implementation of their technology choices," said MPEG LA Chief
    Executive Officer Larry Horn.

    The call begins a process of evaluating and determining patents
    that are essential to the standard in order to include them in a joint
    patent portfolio license providing users with fair, reasonable, and
    nondiscriminatory access to the technology as an alternative to
    negotiating separate licenses. A summary of the MPEG LA facilitation
    effort with reference to the HD DVD Standard is attached.

    HD DVD Standard

    HD DVD refers to a next generation optical disc format developed
    by the DVD Forum, an international association of hardware
    manufacturers, software firms, content providers and other users of
    Digital Versatile Discs. The format was developed to enable recording,
    re-writing and playback of high definition (HD) video and audio, as
    well as storing large amounts of data. The new format uses a
    blue-violet laser with a short wave length (405 nm) allowing a large
    amount of data to be packed tightly and stored on a standard size
    disc. The HD DVD standard refers generally to (a) a rewritable optical
    disc, a recordable optical disc and a read-only optical disc; (b) the
    method of playing such discs; and (c) recording methods. For more
    information, see http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/hd_dvd/hd_what.html.

    MPEG LA, LLC

    MPEG LA is the world leader in alternative technology licenses,
    enabling users to acquire worldwide patent rights necessary for a
    technology standard or platform from multiple patent holders in a
    single transaction as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses.
    Wherever an independently administered one-stop patent license would
    provide a convenient marketplace alternative to assist users with
    implementation of their technology choices, the licensing model
    pioneered and employed by MPEG LA may provide a solution. By balancing
    patent users' interest in reasonable access with patent owners'
    interest in reasonable return, MPEG LA creates the opportunity for
    adoption of new technologies and fuels innovation. MPEG LA's initial
    licensing program for MPEG-2 digital video compression helped produce
    the most widely employed standard in consumer electronics history, and
    the MPEG LA(R) Licensing Model has become the template for addressing
    other technologies. Today MPEG LA manages licensing programs
    consisting of essential patents in 57 countries. MPEG LA is an
    independent licensing administrator; it is not related to any
    standards agency and is not an affiliate of any patent holder. For
    more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.

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    ATTACHMENT

    Following is a summary of MPEG LA's facilitation effort for creating a
    joint HD DVD patent license:

    1. Objective:

    To establish a portfolio of essential worldwide patents that are
    necessary for implementation of the HD DVD Standard in order to
    provide users with fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to as
    much essential intellectual property as possible under one license.

    2. Scope of Evaluation:

    Essential patents may consist of issued or otherwise enforceable
    patents (but see Section 5 below) having one or more claims that are
    infringed by use or implementation of the HD DVD Standard as embodied
    in the following documents which may be obtained at
    http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/hd_dvd/hd_what.html.

    A.
    DVD Specifications for High Density Read-Only Disc (HD DVD-ROM)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.2
    Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.0

    B.
    DVD Specifications for High Definition Video (HD DVD-Video)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    DVD Specifications for High Definition Video Ver. 1.1
    Reference Information - MLP Reference Information Ver. 1.0
    Reference Information - DTS-HD Reference Information Ver. 1.0

    C.
    DVD Specifications for High Density Recordable Disc (HD DVD-R)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1
    Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-R Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: 2x-speed HD DVD-R Rev. 2.0
    Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0
    Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1

    D.
    DVD Specifications for High Density Recordable Disc (HD DVD-R for DL)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATION Ver. 2.1
    Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-R for DL Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0
    Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 2.0

    E.
    DVD Specifications for High Density Re-recordable Disc (HD DVD-RW)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1
    Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-RW Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: 2x-speed HD DVD-RW Rev. 2.0
    Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0
    Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.0

    F.
    DVD Specifications for High Density Re-recordable Disc (HD DVD-RW for
    DL)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATION Ver. 2.1
    Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-RW for DL Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0
    Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 2.0

    G.
    DVD Specifications for High Density Rewritable Disc (HD DVD-RAM)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Part 1: PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.1
    Optional Specifications: 1x-speed HD DVD-Rewritable Rev. 1.01
    Optional Specifications: CASE Rev. 1.0
    Optional Specifications: Holder for 8cm disc Rev. 1.0
    Part 2: FILE SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS Ver. 1.0

    H.
    DVD Specifications for High Definition Video Recording (HD DVD-VR)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    DVD Specifications for High Definition Video Recording Ver. 1.0

    In addition, to assure that the license development process may
    benefit from the views of parties who potentially may obtain
    essential patent rights in the future as well as those who currently
    have them, any owner of a patent application with claims that the
    owner believes are essential to the Standard and likely to issue in a
    patent are welcome to submit it for an evaluation of its essentiality
    by independent patent experts in order potentially to participate in
    the license development process (only issued patents would be
    included in the license, however). If a patent application with
    essential claims does not issue as a patent or is found not to
    contain essential claims when it subsequently issues as a patent, it
    will no longer provide a basis for participation.

    3. Organization

    The patent portfolio may require at least the following functions:

    First, as Evaluation Facilitator, MPEG LA has made a call described in
    this announcement for the submission of patents (and patent
    applications) for an evaluation of their essentiality by patent
    experts and inclusion in a joint license if determined to be
    essential. MPEG LA also will facilitate the evaluation process,
    convene the initial group of essential patent (and patent
    application) holders and facilitate their deliberations to consider
    terms of a joint license as described below.

    Second, an Evaluator (identified below) will evaluate patents (and
    patent applications) for essentiality with respect to the HD DVD
    Standard (as set forth in Section 2). Any party that believes it has
    essential patents (or patent applications) is invited to submit them
    for evaluation and inclusion in accordance with the terms and
    procedures governing submissions (see Section 5).

    Third, an initial group of essential patent (and patent application)
    holders who have agreed to the terms governing the submission of
    patents (and patent applications) and been found by the independent
    patent experts to have essential intellectual property will be
    convened to decide licensing terms. Patent (and patent application)
    evaluations will continue and submissions may continue to be made for
    later inclusion and participation by patent owners. After joint
    license terms are decided, evaluations will continue throughout the
    course of the license in order to include as much essential
    intellectual property as possible.

    Fourth, a licensing administrator, including details of the licensing
    administrator's retention, will be determined by the initial group of
    patent holders.

    4. Licensing details

    To be determined by the essential patent owners.

    5. Planned Schedule

    Initial submissions: by June 29, 2007. Any party that believes it has
    a patent (or patent application) in US, EPO, Japan or Korea that is
    essential to the standard and wishes to join the HD DVD Patent
    Portfolio License is invited to submit it for evaluation of
    essentiality by MPEG LA's patent experts (counterpart patents in
    other countries may be included once there is an active license and a
    party becomes a Licensor). Evaluations will be conducted by Dr.
    Kenneth Rubenstein of Proskauer Rose LLP and his worldwide team of
    patent experts in Europe, Japan and Korea. Further information, along
    with terms and procedures governing patent submissions, can be found
    at http://www.mpegla.com/pid/hddvd/. Although submissions may
    continue to be made after that date, patent or patent application
    owners who submit patents or patent applications by that date which
    are determined to be essential will be invited to attend an initial
    meeting of essential patent holders expected to be held in September
    2007.
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