(Tokyo Japan – October 1, 2008) ULDAGE Inc. announced today that the Patent Pool License for Digital Cable Broadcasting Standards is now available. The License includes essential patents owned by the following 15 companies.

France Telecom/Telediffusion de France, FUJITSU LIMITED, Hitachi, Ltd., Kenwood Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, NEC Corporation, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Panasonic Corporation, Pioneer Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Thomson Licensing S.A., Toshiba Corporation, and Victor Company of Japan, Limited.

These 15 companies agreed on the following license terms for launching the license program through ULDAGE. The royalties relating to digital cable broadcasting are, in case of receiving devices, JPY100 per unit for digital terrestrial trans-modulation receiving devices; JPY150 per unit for digital terrestrial pass-through/trans-modulation receiving devices.

Technology transition from analog to digital has made the patent issues more complicated. The Digital Cable Broadcasting Standards License will simplify it by licensing as a package multiple essential patents held by multiple patent holders under fair and reasonable conditions. ULDAGE Inc. believes that the establishment of this license scheme will help ensure a stable business environment for those engaged in the business of digital cable broadcasting.

ULDAGE Inc. welcomes having additional holders of essential patents and hopes that this patent license program will expand further.

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(Tokyo Japan – August 8, 2008) ULDAGE Inc. announced today that the Patent Pool License for Digital Cable Broadcasting Standards is scheduled to be available in October, 2008. The License includes essential patents owned by at least following 13 companies.

Kenwood Corporation, France Telecom/Telediffusion de France, Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Pioneer Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Thomson Licensing S.A., Toshiba Corporation, and Victor Company of Japan, Limited.

The discussion among those 13 companies took place since May 2008 and they agreed on the following terms of license for launching the license program. The royalties relating to digital cable broadcasting are, in case of receiving devices, JPY100 per unit for digital terrestrial trans-modulation receiving devices; JPY150 per unit for digital terrestrial pass-through/trans-modulation receiving devices.

Technology transition from analog to digital has made the patent issues more complicated. The Digital Cable Broadcasting Standards License will simplify it by licensing as a package multiple essential patents held by multiple patent holders under fair and reasonable conditions. ULDAGE Inc. believes that the establishment of this license scheme will help ensure a stable business environment to those engaged in the business of digital cable broadcasting.

ULDAGE Inc. welcomes having additional holders of essential patents and hopes that this patent license program will expand further.

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(Tokyo Japan – February 25, 2008) ULDAGE Inc., a patent license company, announced today that Toshiba Corporation and Hitachi, Ltd. have become shareholders of ULDAGE. By welcoming Toshiba and Hitachi as new shareholders in addition to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation and Victor Company of Japan, Limited, the financial foundation of ULDAGE will be more solid.

As attention has been drawn to the patent pool as an effective tool in handling intellectual property in the digital age, further expectations for its usefulness will grow in an area where a standardization of the technologies is imperative. The participation of Toshiba and Hitachi at this time is considered to be consistent with such expectations.

ULDAGE administers 15 companies’ essential patents (ARIB standards) for Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting, BS Digital Broadcasting, CS Digital Broadcasting, One Seg broadcasting, etc., under fair and reasonable conditions. In the future, ULDAGE will administer essential patents for cable broadcasting as well.

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(Tokyo Japan – December 21, 2007) ULDAGE Inc., a patent license company today issued a call for patents that are essential to the Japanese Digital Cable Broadcasting Standards developed by the following:

• Japan Cable Television Engineering Association (JCTEA Standards)
• Japan Cable Laboratories (JCL Operational Specification)
• Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB Standards)

The purpose of the call is to evaluate and determine patents that are essential to the standards in order to include them in a joint patent license, which will be provided under fair and reasonable terms and will serve to promote the digital cable broadcasting market in Japan.

A summary of patent submissions and evaluations is as follows:

1. Patents to be submitted are those that are :

(1)	technically essential to implementation of the following JCTEA Standards, JCL Operational Specification, and ARIB Standards.  and
(2)	issued in Japan
	Number Standards Title JCTEA STD-001 Conditional Access System for Digital Cable Television JCTEA STD-002 Multiplex System for Digital Cable Television JCTEA STD-003 Service Information for Digital Cable Television JCTEA STD-007 Receiver for Digital Cable Television JCTEA STD-011 Pass-through Method for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting Signals over Cable Television System JCTEA STD-012 Head-Amplifier for Retransmitting Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting over Cable Television System JCL SPEC-001 Operational specifications for BS digital broadcasting Trans-Modulation JCL SPEC-001-01 Operational specifications for BS digital broadcasting Trans-Modulation Detailed specifications of illegal usage protection function JCL SPEC-001-02 Operational specifications for BS digital broadcasting Trans-Modulation Operational specifications for download function JCL SPEC-002 Operational specifications for 110°E longitude CS digital broadcasting Trans-Modulation JCL SPEC-003 Operational specifications for ReMUX digital broadcasting (independent broadcasting) JCL SPEC-004 Operational specifications for ReMUX digital broadcasting (i-HITS) JCL SPEC-005 Operational specifications for JC-HITS Trans-Modulation JCL SPEC-006 Operational specifications for Pass-Through terrestrial digital broadcasting and independent broadcasting JCL SPEC-007 Operational specifications for Trans-Modulation terrestrial broadcasting and independent broadcasting ARIB STD-B20 Transmission System for Digital Satellite Broadcasting ARIB STD-B24 Data Coding and Transmission Specification for Digital Broadcasting ARIB STD-B25 Conditional Access System Specifications for Digital Broadcasting ARIB STD-B31 Transmission System for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting ARIB STD-B32 Video Coding, Audio Coding and Multiplexing Specifications for Digital Broadcasting ARIB TR-B14 Operational Guidelines for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting ARIB TR-B15 Operational Guidelines for Digital Satellite Broadcasting Other ARIB Standards Other ARIB Standards quoted in JCTEA Standards and JCL Operational Specification as requirement
	Patents related to MPEG-2 Video Standards, MPEG-4 Video Standards, H.264/MPEG-4AVC Standards, IEEE1394 Standards administrated by already existing patent license schemes and Broadcasting System Based on Home Servers are excluded.
(3)	If your patent is one of the ARIB essential patent portfolios and essential to only ARIB Standards above, another evaluation process is available.

2. [ Contact ]	Japan Intellectual Property Arbitration Center (JIPAC) Secretariat Benrishikaikan Bldg.
	3-4-2 Kasumigaseki Chiyoda-ku Tokyo, 100-0013
	PHONE / FAX	:	+81-3-3500-3793 / +81-3-3500-3839
	E-Mail	:	info@ip-adr.gr.jp

3. Schedule for Patent Submissions and Evaluations (Plan)

December 21st, 2007	:	Call for Patent Submissions
The end of February 2008	:	Closing of Initial Submissions (Essential Patent Holders as of this date will be invited to the first Patent Holders’ Meeting.  Patent Submissions and Evaluations shall be continued thereafter.)
The end of May 2008	:	The First Patent Holders’ Meeting

ULDAGE will send an invitation to the Patent Holders’ Meeting to those who have  patents evaluated as essential to JCTEA, JCL and ARIB Standards.

4. Evaluation Fee:

Any party that wishes to submit patents for evaluation is requested to pay an Evaluation Fee to the Evaluator.  The evaluation fee is determined in accordance with the rule of JIPAC, depending upon the number of claims that it believes are essential to JCTEA, JCL and ARIB Standards.

For a patent which has one or two claims per patent: 800,000JPY
For a patent which has three or four claims per patent: 1,000,000JPY
For a patent which has five claims or more per patent: 100,000 JPY is added 
The reconfirmation of essentiality of patents costs 50,000 JPY per patent.

For more information, please visit http://www.uldage.com.  Those who are interested in the patent evaluation process may go to http://www.ip-adr.gr.jp (JAPANESE LANGUAGE ONLY).

Japanese   |   English

(Tokyo Japan – March 5, 2007) ULDAGE Inc. announced today that THOMSON Licensing S.A.S (Thomson) has joined the patent pool for ARIB Standards making its essential patents license available through ULDAGE Inc. Thomson’s joining the pool now makes 11* companies which are licensing their essential patents for ARIB standards through Uldage Inc. resulting in further simplification of the complicated patent issues for those who use the ARIB standards.

ULDAGE Inc. welcomes having additional holders of essential patents so as to further expand the program.

*	France Telecom /Teledifusion de France, Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, and Victor Company of Japan, Limited.

Japanese   |   English

(Tokyo Japan – February 1, 2007) ULDAGE Inc. announced today that the Patent Pool License for ARIB Standards (ARIB Essential Patent License) is now available. The License includes essential patents owned by France Telecom Teledifusion de France, Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, and Victor Company of Japan, Limited.

The above companies have finally agreed on the following terms of license for launching the license program: manufacturers or distributors of digital broadcasting devices shall pay, for instance, JPY 200 per unit for television set receiving digital BS, CS and terrestrial broadcasting; JPY 100 per unit for television set receiving digital terrestrial broadcasting only; JPY 50 per unit for mobile terminal receiving digital terrestrial broadcasting called "One Seg" only.

Technology transition from analog to digital has made the patent issues more complicated. The ARIB Essential Patent License will simplify it by licensing as a package multiple essential patents held by multiple patent holders under fair and reasonable conditions. ULDAGE Inc. believes that the establishment of this license scheme will help manufacturers and distributors ensure stable supply of digital broadcasting devices.

ULDAGE Inc. welcomes having additional holders of essential patents and hopes that this patent license program will expand further.

Japanese   |   English

(Tokyo Japan – November 10, 2006) ULDAGE Inc. announced today that 10 essential patent holders, France Télécom, Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Limited, have started discussions on a patent pool license program for Japanese Digital Broadcasting Standards ("ARIB Standards"). Each of 10 companies owns a patent that is evaluated as essential by the Japan Intellectual Property Arbitration Center (JIPAC).

ULDAGE Inc. will facilitate discussions among essential patent holders aiming for licensing essential patents held by multiple patent holders under fair and reasonable conditions through a single license program.

ULDAGE Inc. welcomes additional holders of essential patents and encourages them to participate in the patent pool license program. Those who are interested in the patent evaluation process may follow the procedures provided by JIPAC website http://www.ip-adr.gr.jp (JAPANESE LANGUAGE ONLY).

Japanese   |   English

(Tokyo Japan – August 8, 2006) ULDAGE Inc., a patent license company, today issued a call for patents that are essential to the Japanese Digital Broadcasting Standards developed by Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB Standards).  The purpose of the call is to evaluate and determine patents that are essential to the standards in order to include them in a joint patent license, which will be provided under fair and reasonable terms and will serve to promote the digital broadcasting market in Japan.

A summary of patent submissions and evaluations is as follows:

1. Patents to be submitted:

Patents that are:
(1)	technically essential to implementation of the following ARIB Standards, and
(2)	issued in Japan
	Number ARIB Standards Title STD-B10 Service Information for Digital Broadcasting System STD-B20 Transmission System for Digital Satellite Broadcasting STD-B21 Receiver for Digital Broadcasting STD-B24 Data Coding and Transmission Specification for Digital Broadcasting STD-B25 Conditional Access System Specifications for Digital Broadcasting STD-B29 Transmission System For Digital Terrestrial Sound Broadcasting STD-B30 Receiver For Digital Terrestrial Sound Broadcasting STD-B31 Transmission System for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting STD-B32 Video Coding, Audio Coding and Multiplexing Specifications for Digital Broadcasting TR-B13 Operational Guidelines for Digital Terrestrial Sound Broadcasting TR-B14 Operational Guidelines for Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting TR-B15 Operational Guidelines for Digital Satellite Broadcasting
	Patents related to MPEG-2 Video Standards, MPEG-4 Video Standards, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Standards, IEEE1394 Standards, and Broadcasting System Based on Home Servers are excluded.

2. Patent Evaluation:

The Evaluator, Japan Intellectual Property Arbitration Center (JIPAC), is an independent patent expert, and will evaluate patents for essentiality to ARIB Standards.

[ Contact ]	Jaspan Intellectual Property Arbitration Center (JIPAC) Secretariat Benrishikaikan Bldg.
	3-4-2 Kasumigaseki Chiyoda-ku Tokyo, 100-0013
	PHONE / FAX	:	+81-3-3500-3793 / +81-3-3500-3839
	E-Mail	:	info@ip-adr.gr.jp

3. Schedule for Patent Submissions and Evaluations (Plan)

Aug. 8, 2006	Call for Patent Submissions
Sep. 8, 2006	Closing of Initial Submission (Essential Patent Holders as of this date will be invited to the first Patent Holders’ Meeting.  Patent Submissions and Evaluations shall be continued thereafter.)
Nov. mid, 2006	The First Patent Holders’ Meeting

ULDAGE will send an invitation for the Patent Holders’ Meeting to those who have a patent evaluated as essential to ARIB Standard.

4. Evaluation Fee:

Any party that wishes to submit patents for evaluation is requested to pay an Evaluation Fee to the Evaluator.  Evaluation fee is determined in accordance with the rule of JIPAC, depending upon the number of claims that it believes are essential to ARIB Standards.

For a patent which has one or two claims per patent: 800,000JPY
For a patent which has three or four claims per patent: 1,000,000JPY
For a patent which has five claims or more per patent: 1,000,000JPY plus 100,000JPY per additional one (1) claim (accruing from the fifth claim)

For more information, please see http://www.uldage.com.  Those who are interested in patent evaluation process may go to http://www.ip-adr.gr.jp (JAPANESE LANGUAGE ONLY).

Japanese   |   English