Digital Content Industry Moves Step Closer to Choosing Standard for Controlled Internet Distribution.

Business/High Tech Editors

MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 2000

More Than 1000 XrML Licenses Issued Since April 2000, Accelerating the

Establishment of a Universal Digital Rights Management Standard

ContentGuard, Inc., a leading provider of digital rights management (DRM) solutions for all forms of content, today announced that more than 1000 eXtensible rights Markup Language (XrML) licenses have been issued.

XrML has already generated support from technology leaders, content owners, eTailers and clearinghouses, including Barnes & Noble, Glassbook, Inc., Hewlett Packard Company and Time Warner Trade Publishing and is currently being integrated into applications including the Microsoft's Digital Asset Server (DAS) and Microsoft Reader software.

"There is a huge opportunity for explosive growth in the digital content marketplace," said Amy Wohl, President of Wohl Associates, an analyst firm that focuses on new technologies and new market formation. "However, an obstacle to the wide availability of eBooks, music and intellectual property on the market is digital content providers' hesitancy to release content until there is a standard, secure method for its exchange. The momentum we are seeing behind the industry's adoption of XrML could be the mechanism to overcome this obstacle."

45 percent of those downloading the XrML licenses reside in the New Media sector (eBooks, music and video) with another 35 percent in the Intellectual Property area. The XrML language allows content owners to express and assign usage rights to content and create associated user licenses. ContentGuard made the language available to the industry on a royalty free basis earlier this year in order to establish an XrML community, able to create and run interoperable DRM systems for all forms of digital content.

"Napster's popularity has further highlighted to content owners that there is huge consumer demand for the availability of digital music, as well as other media, over the Internet," said Ranjit Singh, ContentGuard president and COO. "Establishing XrML as a DRM standard will allow the systems that support the distribution and download of all these forms of content to work seamlessly together, creating a user-friendly experience for both content owner and consumer."

XrML, originally developed at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), is an open specification for the association of digital rights and conditions (such as access fees and usage conditions) with content. The specification facilitates the creation of an open architecture for rights management of digital content and can be easily integrated with both existing and new DRM systems. By freely licensing XrML, ContentGuard, Inc. is promoting the seamless interoperability of digital rights specifications across authors, artists, publishers, distributors and retailers, who use products from many different vendors. The XrML specification can be licensed and downloaded by visiting the XrML website at www.xrml.org.

About XrML

XrML, the language for digital rights management, is a universal method for specifying rights and conditions associated with the use and protection of digital content. The language was first contributed to the industry as an open specification and licensed on a royalty-free basis in April 2000. Various technology leaders, content owners, publishers, eTailers and clearinghouses have announced their support for XrML. For more information about XrML, please visit www.xrml.org.

About ContentGuard, Inc

ContentGuard, Inc., launched in April 2000, offers digital rights management (DRM) solutions designed to encourage Internet distribution of digital content such as music, eBooks and business reports. ContentGuard's cross-platform technology, originally developed at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and suite of services allow content owners to manage the digital distribution process by tracking usage, preventing unauthorized access and enabling a range of business models for user access. With operations in McLean, Va., Palo Alto, Ca., and El Segundo, Ca., the company's key partners include Microsoft Corporation, Xerox Corporation, Adobe Systems Inc., and Reciprocal. For more information, please visit www.contentguard.com.

ContentGuard, XrML, and eXtensible Rights Markup Language are trademarks of ContentGuard Holdings, Inc. All other company and product trademarks are the property of their respective owners.