Songboy.com and Nintendo Settle Lawsuit On Digital Music Player

Business Wire, August 23, 2000

Business/Entertainment Editors

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2000

Songboy.Com Agrees to Change Corporate and Product Name of

Digital Music Module

Song-Pro.Com, Inc. ("Song-Pro"), formerly known as Songboy.com, Inc. announced today that it has reached settlement of a lawsuit pending in the United States District Court in Seattle with Nintendo of America Inc. ("Nintendo") to resolve all outstanding claims brought by Nintendo against Songboy.Com.

Song-Pro has developed a digital music player module that can be used with the Nintendo Game Boy(R) pocket and Game Boy(R) Color video game systems. Nintendo had sued Song-Pro for infringement of its intellectual property rights. As a result of the settlement, Song-Pro agreed to change the company name and the product's name from Songboy(TM) to Song-Pro(TM) and Nintendo has granted Song-Pro a patent license.

"We are pleased that we were able to come together and find a common ground for agreement," noted Richard Flamm, vice president and general counsel, Nintendo of America. "Nintendo is committed to protecting its intellectual property rights and we appreciate Song-Pro's cooperation in resolving this situation."

"Nintendo should be commended for coming together with Song-Pro, a company that we believe is a cutting edge Internet-technology venture. It is an important association with a minority firm and we herald the opportunity," explained Mark Bush, CMO of Song-Pro.

"The agreement will allow us to pursue our vision of extending the digital music revolution to an entirely new market by providing the most affordable players to a user base of 100 million portable game device users," added Ron Jones, president and CEO of Song-Pro.

Both companies attracted media attention when Nintendo filed a lawsuit for trademark and patent infringement against Songboy.Com. Reverend Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Silicon Valley Project facilitated a meeting between the two and brought both companies together.

"We are more than pleased that we have been able to reach an amicable arrangement between the two companies," cited Jackson. "It has always been the goal of the Rainbow/PUSH Silicon Valley Project to actively seek to create and promote opportunities for women and minorities in Silicon Valley. We wholeheartedly embrace Nintendo's action."

"It's a great day in America's business community," exuded Ron Jones, the Song-Pro product's inventor. "With the legal dispute with Nintendo behind us, I'm looking forward to truly exciting opportunities in the future!"

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than one billion video games worldwide, created such industry icons as Mario (R) and Donkey Kong (R), and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda (R) and Pokemon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems, including the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy -- the world's best-selling video game system. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in North America.

For more information on Nintendo, visit the company's official Web sites at www.nintendo.com or www.pokemon.com.