Interesting development.
Tuesday November 16, 6:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Cirrus Logic and InterTrust to Develop First Secure System-on-a-chip Solution
for Portable Audio Devices
Forthcoming Maverick(TM) Chip Will Provide Rock-solid Protection Against
Internet Content Theft and Enable Secure E-transactions for Media Players
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 1999-- Cirrus Logic Inc.
(Nasdaq:CRUS - news), a leader in Internet audio chip technology, and
InterTrust Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq:ITRU - news), a leader in digital
rights management (DRM) solutions for digital commerce, today announced a
joint development and marketing agreement aimed at delivering the Internet
industry's first secure system-on-a-chip (SOC) solution for digital audio
players, PDAs, electronic books, cellular telephones, and other information
appliances.
The secure SOC, currently under development, will be added to Cirrus Logic's
new Maverick(TM) line of Market Specific Processors(TM) (MSPs) for Internet
audio devices, and will incorporate InterTrust's powerful digital rights
management (DRM) technology in an SOC designed and manufactured by Cirrus
Logic.
Bringing InterTrust's DRM technology together with Cirrus Logic's Maverick
Internet audio technology will result in a secure Internet hardware solution
that will offer content providers, OEMs and consumers a number of advantages:
-- More "trusted" hardware: Manufacturers of portable digital audio
devices will be able to more quickly develop "trusted" players
designed to exceed the latest Secure Digital Music Initiative
(SDMI) requirements for Internet security.
-- Secure transactions: Consumers will be able to take advantage of
InterTrust's robust DRM technology, which will keep e-commerce
transactions private as well as supporting highly secure digital
audio transfers using a Maverick-based hardware solution.
-- A safe arena for content: This agreement should also drive the
availability of Internet-delivered music since it will ensure
unprecedented protection against theft or piracy of content -- a
real concern among record producers that have delayed
distribution of copyrighted audio via the Web.
Under the terms of the agreement, Cirrus Logic and InterTrust will use
InterTrust's technology to embed digital rights management security in a
next-generation Maverick Internet audio chip.
Implementing security in chip hardware makes it extremely difficult to
violate business rules for content access or ``hack' cryptographic keys, so
published content will be better protected from theft when used on handheld
devices designed with security-enhanced Mavericks.
As part of the agreement, Cirrus Logic and InterTrust will co-market Cirrus
Logic's security-enhanced hardware and InterTrust's digital rights management
technology.
``Cirrus Logic is already driving new designs for second-generation MP3 and
Windows Media Audio players thanks to our Maverick EP7209 and EP7211 Internet
audio solutions,' said Matthew Perry, vice president and general manager of
Cirrus Logic's Embedded Processors Division.
``Through this agreement with InterTrust, we will now be in a position to
extend our Maverick Internet audio chip family to lead the way for the third
generation of devices -- 'trusted' players that bring digital rights
management to Internet transactions. Cirrus Logic selected InterTrust because
it is the leading provider of digital rights management technology which is
general purpose, cross-platform, and scalable across a wide range of
information appliances.'
``We're delighted to be working with Cirrus Logic to extend the InterTrust
digital rights management trust layer into system hardware,' said Peter van
Cuylenburg, InterTrust president and chief operating officer.
``This agreement is an important first step that will enable a standardized,
MetaTrust(TM)-certified security platform across Internet audio devices, and
ultimately PDAs, cellular phones, electronic books, and other handheld
appliances.
``The system integration expertise, power management capabilities, and rich
on-chip functionality that the Maverick technology brings to this market make
Cirrus Logic an obvious partner to open up new, secure hardware applications
for Internet transactions.'
Ideal partnership for content rights protection
According to Perry, this agreement and the pending development of an
InterTrust-secured Maverick integrated circuit mark an industry milestone
that could push the e-appliance business to realize its enormous market
potential. Market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts
that consumer purchases of Internet appliances will eventually surpass
consumer purchases of desktop PCs.
The combination of InterTrust's technology and partnerships in the music
industry has propelled InterTrust to the forefront of the movement to bring
portable devices into the world of e-commerce.
At the same time, Cirrus Logic with its new Maverick processors is leading
the effort to deliver powerful single-chip solutions capable of supporting
multiple Internet audio standards and bringing high-quality audio to handheld
consumer products targeted for e-commerce applications.
InterTrust has already signed partnership agreements with a number of leading
entertainment companies and technology companies, including BMG Storage
Media, Computacenter, Creative Technology Ltd., Matsushita Company,
Mediascience, Mitsubishi Corp., MusicMatch, National Computer Systems,
National Westminster Bank, PublishOne, Reciprocal Inc., Reuters, RioPort,
Inc., Samsung SDS, and Universal Music Group.
In addition, InterTrust maintains alliances with Digital Theater Systems
(DTS), Fraunhofer Institut, Harris Corp., Portal Software, and SAIC.
Cirrus Logic is already providing Maverick Internet audio chips to a number
of leading Internet appliance manufacturers, and a new generation of Internet
music products designed with Cirrus Logic's Maverick Internet audio ICs will
ramp to general availability in Q1 2000.
Cirrus Logic expects to have samples of its new InterTrust-enabled Maverick
audio chip ready for sampling in the first half of 2000.
``RioPort, Inc., has been at the forefront of defining secure content
delivery initiatives,' said Anthony Schaller, executive vice president of
technology and CTO of RioPort, Inc. ``We view today's announcement as
complementary to our platform in enabling secure devices to work seamlessly
with a broad range of content and software applications.'
About InterTrust Digital Rights Management (DRM)
DRM technologies protect and manage rights and interests in digital
information. InterTrust's DRM platform provides a common foundation for
authors, publishers, enterprises and others to define rules for using digital
information and building commercial models.
InterTrust technology is designed to protect digital information, apply rules
persistently after information is distributed, and automate many of the
commercial consequences of using the information. InterTrust's DRM platform
is general purpose and can manage a broad range of media types, including
music, publications, business information, video, games, software, and
images.
Content providers and enterprises can take advantage of InterTrust DRM
through the use of the MetaTrust Utility, a neutral environment for digital
commerce.
InterTrust Technologies Corp.
InterTrust Technologies Corp. is a leading provider of digital rights
management (DRM). InterTrust has developed a general purpose DRM platform
that serves as a foundation for providers of digital information, technology,
and commerce services to participate in a global system for digital commerce.
InterTrust licenses its DRM platform as software and tools to partners.
Collectively, these partners will offer digital commerce services and
applications that form a global commerce system branded as the ``MetaTrust
Utility.'
Cirrus Logic Inc.
Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of high-performance analog circuits and
advanced mixed-signal chip solutions. The company's products, sold under its
own name and the Crystal product brand, enable system-level applications in
mass storage, audio, and precision data conversion. Additional information
about Cirrus Logic is available at www.Cirrus Logic.com.
Note to Editors: Maverick and Market Specific Processors are trademarks of
Cirrus Logic Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
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--
Contact:
Cirrus Logic Inc., Fremont
Tom Rigoli, 510/226-2259
trigoli@corp.cirrus.com
or
InterTrust Technologies Corp.
Joseph Jennings, 408/855-0201
jjennings@intertrust.com
or
UpStart Communications
Colleen Nichols, 510/457-3116
cnichols@upstart.com
or
Varney Business Communications
Leigh Anne Varney, 415/387-7250
la@varneybusiness.com |
