Yamaha Announces Wavetable Patent Licensing Program.

HAMAMATSU, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 1998--Yamaha Corporation, the world's leading Integrated manufacturer of electronic musical instruments and PC sound synthesis solutions, today announced the launch of a broad patent licensing initiative directed at its core wavetable synthesis technologies.

The immediate goal of the initiative is to capture an appropriate return on Yamaha's considerable investment in wavetable technology, as well as to gain recognition for Yamaha's many fundamental contributions to the wavetable synthesis field.

Yamaha has long been dedicated to expanding the technological frontiers of electronic music in both the musical instrument and PC fields. Yamaha pioneered FM synthesis in the 1970s and PC sound in the 1980s, and was one of the first companies to successfully develop wavetable and sampling technologies that have found wide acceptance in today's computer and electronic musical instrument industries.

Yamaha's development work on wavetable synthesis began in the 1970s and today Yamaha owns many of the basic technologies believed necessary to the implementation of wavetable synthesis. Yamaha's investment in wavetable synthesis technology, and intellectual property relating to that technology, has been substantial.

Consistent with its strategy to protect its considerable investment in research and development through the acquisition of intellectual property rights, Yamaha has obtained numerous patents worldwide relating to wavetable synthesis.

These include U.S. Patent Nos. 4,539,883, 4,584,921, 4,967,635 and 4,974,485, which were originally applied for in the 1970s and early 1980s, and which cover some of the core wavetable technologies believed to be in widespread use today.

Other important wavetable patents owned by Yamaha include nos. 4,373,416, 4,520,708, 4,570,523, 4,738,179, 4,763,553, 4,843,938, 4,890,527, 4,893,538, 5,000,074, 5,250,748, 5,498,835, 5,553,011, 5,631,434, 5,652,797, 5,698,802, 5,668,336 and Re. 34,913.

Yamaha's many significant patents relating to wavetable synthesis provide broad coverage over the wavetable field. While Yamaha previously has not generally granted portfolio licenses covering its core wavetable technologies, Yamaha will now make those technologies available to other companies as part of its licensing initiative.

Companies engaged in developing or manufacturing wavetable products who are interested in utilizing Yamaha intellectual property under license are encouraged to enter into negotiations. Yamaha intends to take appropriate action to vigorously enforce its wavetable patent rights where deemed necessary to prevent unlicensed use of those technologies.