"Musicmaker.com (HITS) Awarded Broad US Patent For Producing Custom CDs and Videos On Demand"
New Patent Covers Digital Audio and Video Files On Multiple Media on the Internet
RESTON, Va., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Musicmaker.com (Nasdaq: HITS) has been awarded broad US patent coverage for production of customized CDs and video files on demand over the Internet. This is the third patent the Company has received in the last 90 days covering custom CDs and custom videos on the Internet.
"The technology underlying the patents allows for on demand custom production of audio files and video files on a variety of media, including CDs, DVD and mini disks over the Internet," said Bob Bernardi, musicmaker.com's chairman. "The process can be used as a 'just in time' manufacturing process for customized and personalized CDs and for the emerging market for customized music videos on DVD."
The new patent issued this week by the United States Patent & Trademark Office covers various aspects of making customized compact discs and customized videos on demand. "This new patent furthers our leadership position in the digital distribution of music on the Internet and underscores the uniqueness of musicmaker.com's strategy in Internet music distribution," Mr. Bernardi added.
"It's one more example of how unique technology is accelerating the consumer's choices in music and establishing musicmaker.com's position as a leader for custom CDs and secure digital downloads on the Internet," Bernardi said. The new patent was issued on January 4, 2000 as US Patent No. 6,011,758, and is entitled "System and Method for Producing Customized Media on Demand."
The prior patents were issued on September 28, 1999 as US patent No. 5,959,944 and on October 26, 1999 as US Patent No. 5,974,004.
In keeping with its longstanding practice of actively protecting its intellectual property, musicmaker.com also has pending several other US and international patent applications covering several different areas of technology.
Musicmaker.com, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, is one of the leading providers of custom compilation CD and secure digital download music sites on the Internet. Founded by executives, including Robert Bernardi, co-founder of PictureTel and TranSwitch, Raju Puthukarai, former president of RCA/BMG Music and Video Club and President of Warner Music Media and Irwin H. Steinberg, former Chairman and CEO of PolyGram Records, USA, musicmaker.com offers music lovers the opportunity to build their own CDs by selecting and organizing songs from a library approaching 250,000 tracks from over 125 labels in a variety of music genres. Powerful search engines help find selections by genre, artist, title, and label. Real Audio allows tracks to be sampled before selection. CDs include up to 20 tracks or 70 minutes of music and can be personalized with unique labels as well as imprints on the jewel boxes, CDs range from $9.95 - $24.95 depending on the number of tracks and orders are taken through a secure credit card link and are shipped within two business days. Musicmaker.com also offers about 100,000 licensed songs in three secured downloading formats: Liquid Audio, Microsoft MS Audio 4.0 and a musicmaker.com proprietary Secure-MP3 format. Each digital download track is priced at $1.00 per song. Musicmaker.com has exclusive marketing agreements with Columbia House, a leading record and video club, Audio Book Club, Platinum Entertainment, America OnLine and Woodstock.com. Musicmaker.com also has an exclusive, five-year licensing arrangement for the music content that EMI, one of the world's largest music companies, elects to make available, currently including the Beastie Boys, Cher, Beach Boys, Natalie Cole, Selena, NWA, Mel Torme, and Ike & Tina Turner, exclusively to musicmaker.com for custom compilations.
Any forward-looking statements contained in this release involve a number of uncertainties, risks and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to materially differ. Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially include, among others, those set forth in the Company's Registration Statement filed on Form S-1 dated as of July 7, 1999 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
