DVD6C Announces Changes to DVD Licensing Program

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TOKYO --(Business Wire)-- March 1, 2005 -- The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C), the industry body representing seven leading developers of DVD technology and formats -- Hitachi, Ltd., IBM Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) and Warner Home Video Inc. -- today announced that it will revise its worldwide patent licensing program to offer licensees more licensing options and reduced royalty rates on certain products.

Under the revised licensing program, DVD6C licensees have the option of selecting portfolio licenses for particular categories of products, including DVD-Video Players, DVD Recorders, DVD Drives, DVD-Video Discs and DVD Recordable Discs. In addition, if a licensee enters into the new category license, minimum royalties for DVD-Video Players, DVD-Audio Players and DVD-ROM Drives will be reduced from US$4.00 to US$3.00, royalties for DVD-ROM, DVD-Video and DVD-Audio Discs will be reduced from US5 cents to US4.5 cents, and minimum royalties for DVD-R, -RW and -RAM Discs will be reduced from US7.5 cents to US6.5 cents.

DVD6C has licensed essential DVD patents owned by its member companies since June 1999 (adding licensing for DVD-Recorders, DVD-Audio Players, DVD-R, -RW and -RAM Drives, DVD-Audio, -R, -RW, -and -RAM Discs and Cases in September 2003). DVD6C's licenses cover patents owned by the 6C member companies that are essential for products that comply with the DVD-format specifications defined by the DVD Forum.

The new royalty rates for the 14 categories are shown below. Reduced royalties for licensees who sign the revised license agreement by June 30, 2005 will be effective retroactive to January 1, 2005. Royalties for licensees who sign the revised license agreement after July 1, 2005 will be effective as of the signature date.

Drive  

Category	Royalty
DVD-Video Player	4% of the net selling price or US$3.00,
	whichever is greater; US$8.00 at maximum
DVD-Audio Player	4% of the net selling price or US$3.00,
	whichever is greater; US$8.00 at maximum
DVD-ROM Drive	4% of the net selling price or US$3.00,
	whichever is greater; US$8.00 at maximum
DVD-ROM Disc	US4.5 cents per disc
DVD-Video Disc	US4.5 cents per disc
DVD-Audio Disc	US4.5 cents per disc
DVD Decoder	4% of the net selling price or US$1.00,
	whichever is greater
DVD (Video) Recorder	4% of the net selling price or US$6.00,
	whichever is greater
DVD (Recordable Disc)	4% of the net selling price or US$6.00,
whichever is greater
DVD Encoder	4% of the net selling price or US$1.50,
	whichever is greater
DVD-R Disc	4% of the net selling price or US6.5 cents,
	whichever is greater
DVD-RW Disc	4% of the net selling price or US6.5 cents,
	whichever is greater
DVD-RAM Disc	4% of the net selling price or US6.5 cents,
	whichever is greater
Recordable Disc Case	4% of the net selling price or US0.5 cents,
	whichever is greater

Interested parties will remain free to negotiate individual license agreements with DVD6C's member companies, rather than taking licenses from DVD6C. The member companies have committed to provide such licenses under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.

For further information on the revised DVD6C licensing program, please contact one of the following regional agents:

Japan: Toshihiro Shinohara Vice President and General Manager Licensing Toshiba DVD License Services, Inc. 5th Floor, Sumitomo-Hamamatsucho Bldg. 18-16, Hamamatsucho 1-chome, Minato-ku Tokyo 105-0013, Japan Phone: +81-3-5777-3286 Fax: +81-3-5401-2503 E-mail: toshihiro.shinohara@toshiba-tdls.co.jp

Europe and Africa: Masahiro Ogura Vice President & General Manager Toshiba of Europe Limited Audrey House, Ely Place London, EC1N 6SN United Kingdom Phone: +44(0)20 7421 7610 Fax: +44(0)20 7421 7626 E-mail: masahiro.ogura@toshiba.co.jp

Asia (excluding Japan), Oceania and the Middle East: Joji Ozaki Department Manager DVD Licensing Center Hitachi Ltd. 292, Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama 244-0817, Japan Phone: +81-45-866-5815 Fax: +81-45-866-5906 E-Mail: ozakijo@itg.hitachi.co.jp

The Americas: Masahisa Saito Panasonic Corporation of North America Exclusive Regional Agent for DVD 6C Licensing Agency c/o Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP 201 Redwood Shores Parkway Redwood Shores, California 94065, USA Phone: 650-802-3146 Fax: 650-802-3100 E-Mail: saitom@us.panasonic.com