NEC Selects Drakes Bay as Exclusive Agent for Digital Watermarking Intellectual Property Licensing; Includes Fundamental Ingemar J. Cox Patents in Spread Spectrum Watermarking Techniques

Business Wire, March 20, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO -- Drakes Bay Company announced today it is the exclusive agent for licensing an extensive intellectual property portfolio in digital watermarking owned by NEC Corporation. The digital watermarking patent portfolio consists of 48 granted U.S. and international patents and 24 patent applications for embedding and detecting digital watermarks in audio, image and video files. The patents include the earliest watermarking patents by Ingemar J. Cox, Ph.D. Please direct all inquiries to Drakes Bay Company.

Digital watermarking is the ability to permanently embed and detect data within audio, image or video digital content that is imperceptible and difficult to extract or read with out the correct cryptographic key. It provides media companies and individuals with the ability to protect copyrighted content without relying on client digital rights management software.

Digital watermarking is a key enforcement component of the new digital media and rights management markets enabled by the Internet and wireless devices. Digital Rights Management software and services are expected to grow from $600 Million in 2004 to $2 Billion in 2009 according to the market research firm Digital Tech Consulting Group, Inc.

"We are very pleased to have such an important and extensive patent portfolio to represent," said Joseph W. Jennings, of Drakes Bay Company. "Digital watermarking is important because it is the best consumer experience for enforcing copyrights in all forms of digital media."

"These patents enable copyright enforcement without client software. They enable a highly scalable set of forensic solutions based on actual business and consumer transaction records without any consumer experience of the technologies or the processes," said Jennings.

Drakes Bay Company

Drakes Bay Company is a technology monetization and optimization firm serving industry leaders in market development and licensing for intellectual property portfolios in emerging technology, consumer and enterprise markets. More information on Drakes Bay Company can be found at www.drakesbaycompany.com.

All company names and product names that appear in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.