Period for Initial Blu-ray Disc(TM) Patent Submissions Extended; Initial Submissions Now Requested by February 15, 2006.

DENVER -- MPEG LA, LLC today announced that it has extended until February 15, 2006 (from December 15, 2005) the period for the initial submission of patents to be evaluated by independent patent experts for their essentiality to the Blu-ray Disc(TM) Standard. MPEG LA's plan for forming a joint patent portfolio license to provide users with fair, reasonable, nondiscriminatory access to the Blu-ray Disc(TM) technology as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses was first announced in a 9 November 2005 news release (see http://www.mpegla.com/news/n_05-11-09_bluray.pdf). The call for essential patents is the first step in that process.

MPEG LA, LLC

MPEG LA is the world leader in one-stop technology platform patent licenses, enabling users to acquire patent rights necessary for a particular 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. MPEG LA is not related to any standards agency and is not an affiliate of any patent holder. MPEG LA licenses portfolios of essential patents for the MPEG-2, IEEE 1394, DVB-T, MPEG-4 Visual (Part 2), MPEG-4 Systems and AVC/H.264 (also known as MPEG-4 Part 10) standards. MPEG LA is also facilitating the development of alternative patent portfolio licenses for VC-1, ATSC, DVB-H, various digital rights management (DRM) technologies including OMA DRM 1.0 and 2.0., RFID and Blu-ray Disc(TM). In addition, MPEG LA actively seeks to adopt its alternative patent licensing model in other industries including biotech and pharmaceutical. For more information, please refer to http://www.mpegla.com.