Via Licensing Calls for Essential Patents for Digital Video Broadcasting Multimedia Home Platform, GEM, Associated DVB Specifications, and CableLabs OpenCable Applications Platform.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 2004

Call for Essential Patents Will Lead to Formation of

Joint Licensing of Patents to Enable Products

and Services Implementing the Standard's Specifications

Via Licensing Corporation is pleased to issue a call for essential patents reading on the Digital Video Broadcasting Multimedia Home Platform (MHP), Globally Executable MHP (GEM), CableLabs(R) OpenCable(TM) Applications Platform (OCAP(TM)) standards, and associated DVB specifications. The DVB Project and CableLabs led in fostering the initial steps in this process.

Via Licensing Corporation has been selected by a group of patent holders to develop licensing arrangements for patents essential to the implementation of one or more of the above referenced standards and specifications. Via will develop patent licensing programs around essential patents owned by the patent holders, a group that includes Comcast, France Telecom, Microsoft, OpenTV, Panasonic, Philips, Telediffusion de France, Teracom, Time Warner Cable and Thomson. By issuing a call for essential patents, Via will work with the essential patent holders to develop fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory license terms which will allow device manufacturers and software developers access to technology in order to develop compliant interactive television products and services. These standards and specifications define a generic interface between interactive digital applications and the terminals on which those applications execute. They enable digital content providers to address all types of terminals ranging from low-end to high-end set-top boxes, integrated digital TV sets and multimedia PCs. A list of published standards and specifications associated with the licensing arrangements is provided in the chart below.

Via Licensing responded to an effort initiated by DVB and CableLabs to develop licensing programs with the patent holders of essential patents for the standards. Carter Eltzroth, Legal Director for DVB stated, "We are delighted to see the significant progress toward bringing to market a license for the standards associated with MHP. The DVB Project encourages all organizations with patents that may be essential to these standards to participate in the program. By working together the essential patent holders will be able to bring a license to market which will accelerate the adoption of MHP products and services worldwide."

CableLabs' OCAP specification, which is based on Globally Executed MHP, is also included in the call for IPR and patent pooling effort. "The cable industry is committed to OCAP to bring innovative interactive applications to cable subscribers. The formation of a patent licensing pool around OCAP will allow device manufacturers and system operators to deliver affordable standards-based solutions. CableLabs looks forward to seeing fair and reasonable licensing terms from Via Licensing as soon as they are available," said Dr. Richard R. Green, President and CEO of CableLabs.

The goal of Via Licensing's call for patents is to identify the owners of patents that are deemed essential for the practice of the standards and specifications listed below. Essential patents are understood to be issued patents or patent applications that have one or more independent claims that would necessarily and unavoidably be infringed by the implementation or use of the standards.

In response to being selected to manage the formation of the licensing programs, Ramzi Haidamus, Vice President and General Manager of Via Licensing, said, "We are honored to be selected to develop licensing programs for the patent holders of the standards. Interactive television represents the next generation of the television era and we are delighted to be an enabling factor in this space. We look forward to working with the essential patent holders to bring a license that will accelerate the adoption of these exciting technologies by the mass market."

Any entity that believes it has patents or pending patent applications that are essential to the normative portions of the standards and specifications which are listed in the table below is invited to contact Via Licensing Corporation in order to receive information about how to submit patents for an essentiality evaluation. Any company with a patent or patent application that has been determined to be essential may participate in a group consisting of essential patent holders that will convene to discuss the commercialization terms for licensing patents under fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms.

Please request such information by sending an email message to [e-mail], in which you specify your interest in making a submission for consideration of essentiality to the standard's specifications.

About Via Licensing Corporation

Via Licensing Corporation develops and administers patent licensing programs or patent pools on behalf of innovative technology companies and for the convenience of licensees. Via Licensing Corporation is a subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, Inc. and benefits from the expertise, infrastructure, and strategic business relationships that Dolby has developed in more than 30 years of licensing into the consumer electronics and personal computing markets. Via Licensing is involved in the development and operation of licensing programs for both mandated and de facto or emerging standards. For more information about Via Licensing Corporation, please visit www.vialicensing.com.

This call for patents covers later specifications, notably the Multimedia Home Platform and the GEM specification. It also includes CableLabs' OCAP specification based on the GEM specification. Set forth below is a list of titles of covered specifications, together with the reference number of the related recognized standards body. More complete description of each specification can be found at www.dvb.org and at www.cablelabs.com.

 Reference                             Title
    No.
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
OC-SP-       OpenCable Application Platform Specification
 OCAP1.0-IF-
 I09-031121
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 101 812   Digital Video Broadcasting; Multimedia Home Platform
              (MHP) specification 1.0.2
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 103 812   Digital Video Broadcasting; Multimedia Home Platform
              (MHP) in HTML extensions
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 102 819   Digital Video Broadcasting; Globally Executable MHP (GEM)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 300 748   DVB Multipoint Video Distribution Systems (MVDS) at 10
              GHz and above
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 300 749   DVB Framing structure, channel coding and modulation for
              MMDS systems below 10 GHz
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 701   DVB OFDM modulation for microwave digital terrestrial
              television
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 210   DVB Framing structure, channel coding and modulation for
              Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) and other
              contribution applications by satellite
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 222   DVB Coordination channels associated with Digital
              Satellite News Gathering (DSNG)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 775   Standard for conveying VBI data in Digital Video
              Broadcasting bitstreams
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 192   DVB Specification for data broadcasting
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TR 102 154   DVB Implementation Guidelines for the use of MPEG-2
              Systems, Video and Audio in Contribution Applications
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 199   DVB Interaction channel for Local Multipoint Distribution
              System (LMDS) distribution systems
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 195   DVB Interaction channel through the Global System for
              Mobile Communications (GSM)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TR 101 201   DVB Interaction channel for Satellite Master Antenna TV
              (SMATV) distribution systems; Guidelines for versions
              based on satellite and coaxial sections
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 790   DVB Interaction channel for Satellite Distribution
              Systems
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 301 958   Digital Video Broadcasting; Specification of interaction
              channel for digital terrestrial TV including multiple
              access OFDM
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
ETS 300 813  Digital Video Broadcasting Interfaces to Plesiochronous
              Digital Hierarchy (PDH) networks
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
ETS 300 814  DVB Interfaces to Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)
              networks
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TR 100 815   Guidelines for the handling of ATM signals in DVB systems
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 101 224   DVB Home Access Network (HAN) with an active Network
              Termination (NT)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 101 225   DVB In-Home Digital Network (IHDN) Home Local Network
              (HLN)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TR 101 891   Digital Video Broadcasting; Professional Interfaces:
              Guidelines for the implementation and usage of the DVB
              Asynchronous Serial Interface (ASI)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
EN 50201     Interface for Digital Video Broadcasting -- IRDs
 (CENELEC)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 102 201   Interfaces for Digital Video Broadcasting -- IRDs
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 101       Digital Video Broadcasting SimulCrypt; Part 1: Head-end
 197 - 1      architecture and synchronization
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TS 103 197   DVB Head-end Implementation of SimulCrypt
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
ETR 290      Measurement guidelines for Digital Video Broadcasting
              systems
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TR 101 290   Measurement guidelines for Digital Video Broadcasting
              systems
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------
TR 101 291   Usage of Digital Video Broadcasting test and measurement
              signaling channel (PID 0x001D) embedded in an MPEG-2
              Transport Stream (TS)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------

DVB and MHP are registered trademarks of the DVB Project. CableLabs, OpenCable, and OCAP are trademarks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.