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Innovations Slated for Blu-ray and HD DVD Formats; Expands Sonic’s Licensing Potential
Novato, California — Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC), the leader in digital media software, today announced that it has been awarded several new patents, the most significant of which is US Patent 6,944,621 for dynamic content revision. The Sonic technology covered in the ‘621 patent allows the updating or
augmenting of multimedia content on portable storage media including CD, DVD, UMD, Blu-ray Disc (BD), HD DVD, and flash memory. Originally deployed on DVDs, this technology is now a studio-required feature in the proposed specifications
for the next-generation Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. The patent allows Sonic to develop unique features in its professional and consumer applications, as well as to license the technology to content owners, software developers, game
console and consumer electronics manufacturers, and other industry partners.
Sonic’s dynamic content revision technology allows the publishers of
content on portable storage media to update or augment that content over the
Web or through a local cache. Game publishers or movie studios, for example,
can replace trailers and advertisements or change menu selections, providing
a very cost-effective way to keep content “fresh” as well as deliver
ongoing promotions and e-commerce offerings. The technology has been embraced
by major Hollywood studios for their DVD releases of InterActual®-enabled
titles such as Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban, and Star Wars Trilogy and is expected to be available soon on BD
and HD DVD discs.
"These latest patents underscore the increasing technical depth and breadth
of Sonic’s role in the digital media industry," said Richard Doherty,
research director of the Envisioneering Group. "The patents are a foundation
of Sonic’s strength because they secure the company’s Sonic, Roxio®,
and InterActual products, which lead their respective sectors and enable professionals
and consumers to author, record, and play audio-visual content and data files
to and from disc. By licensing its patented technologies, Sonic also offers
the entire industry an opportunity to benefit from new and enhanced capabilities."
In addition to the ‘621 patent, Sonic also obtained a second patent on
its Virtual Theater technology (US Patent 6,941,383), which allows multiple
users to simultaneously view and interact with a live or archived video event.
Deployed on motion picture DVDs including The Matrix and Spider-Man, Virtual
Theater makes it possible to host live events including video-enabled chats
hosted by directors and actors that connect thousands of viewers over the internet.
In the optical media recording field, Sonic received patents for an image mastering
application programming interface (API) for data recording (US Patent 6,882,795),
for efficient host processing of data files selected for recording to an optical
disc media (US Patent 6,910,038), and for eliminating redundancy in the recording
of data files while maintaining multiple links to those files (US Patent 6,910,038).
A patent was also granted for Sonic’s multi-channel surround sound mastering
and reproduction techniques that preserve spatial harmonics in three dimensions
(US Patent 6,904,152).
“With our acquisition in recent years of respected companies such as
InterActual and Roxio, Sonic has gained not only top brand names and a well-diversified
product base, but also a great wealth of engineering talent and expertise,”
said Dave Habiger, president and CEO of Sonic Solutions. “The patent process
is one way that we are maximizing the value of these assets, protecting our
innovations, while leveraging our investments to create new opportunities for
the future growth of our company and our industry.”
Information regarding Sonic patents and licensing opportunities, including
links to the full text and images of each patent, may be found at http://www.sonic.com/innovation/patents.
