ContentGuard and OverDrive form alliance to drive DRM interoperability in ePublishing

XrML to be deployed by industry leading services provider to the ePublishing Communities

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., September 25, 2001 - Today at Seybold 2001, ContentGuard, Inc., the leading provider of Digital Rights Management (DRM) Rights Language technology and OverDrive, a world leader in software, eCommerce, DRM and content conversion services to the book industry, announced a strategic alliance designed to augment the Rights Management solutions already offered by OverDrive through the use of XrML (eXtensible rights Markup Language) -- the only Rights Expression Language currently in commercial use.

Under the terms of the agreement, OverDrive and ContentGuard will work together to deploy XrML into the authoring and conversion workflows already supported by the successful tools and services currently marketed by OverDrive. In addition, the two companies intend to partner on marketing their Digital Rights Management capabilities in the ePublishing arena.

"As the ePublishing market matures, it is important for members of the value chain to have consistent tools and methods to express rights information associated with digital content at all stages of the process. Content owners will now have the ability to tag content with rights metadata up front for the benefit of all channel partners. This helps insure that rights information is communicated when deploying various DRM systems such as Microsoft® Digital Asset Server through OverDrive's MIDAS® suite of service" says Steve Potash, OverDrive's CEO. "XrML is emerging as the de facto standard, and we are delighted to work with ContentGuard to accelerate the adoption of interoperable DRM systems".

"ContentGuard is now singularly focused on licensing our core technologies such as XrML, and OverDrive is the perfect complement to that strategy," said Michael Miron, ContentGuard Co-Chairman and CEO. "OverDrive has been a worldwide leader at the forefront of many trends as in the ePublishing and eBook markets. Having a visionary company recognize the benefits from deploying XrML is further validation of the need for a standard Rights Expression Language to foster the growth of the digital content market. Now publishers can work with OverDrive to gain the interoperability and flexibility they desire in their solutions."

In addition, OverDrive will offer ContentGuard's RightsEdge and eContentSeller customers, both in the U.S. and in Europe, options that will enable them to take advantage of OverDrive's comprehensive eBook and eCommerce workflow services.

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About OverDrive
(www.overdrive.com) is a worldwide leader in technology services to the content industries. It provides secure hosting, eCommerce and Digital Rights Management services for eBook retailers both in the US and throughout Europe. OverDrive operates www.ContentReserve.com, a global wholesale digital distribution service for secure distribution of eBooks and Print-on-Demand files. With world headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, OverDrive has offices in Amsterdam and operates an eBook Technology Center in Montego Bay, Jamaica. OverDrive is a strategic partner for eBook technology for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE).

About ContentGuard, Inc
ContentGuard, Inc. is driving the standard for interoperability in Digital Content Distribution. The company's rights specification language, XrML (eXtensible rights Markup Language), and its broad patent portfolio were originally developed at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). These core technologies enable the efficient creation of DRM applications, simplify the digital distribution process and increase revenue opportunities for content providers deploying varied business models, while protecting their intellectual property. ContentGuard is driving the adoption of XrML as an industry standard to empower the industry to create a consistent, standardized foundation for access and usage rights information. Launched in April 2000, ContentGuard conducts its operations in Bethesda, MD, and El Segundo, CA. The company's key relationships include Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX).

Media Contacts:
Gina Giachetti, Text 100 for ContentGuard, Inc, 415-593-8432, email ginag@text100.com
Heather Roark, Text 100 for ContentGuard, Inc, 415-593-8476, email heatherr@text100.com
Dawn Clark, OverDrive, Inc., 216-573-6886, email dclark@overdrive.com

NOTE TO EDITORS:
For more information about ContentGuard, Inc, please visit our website at www.contentguard.com.

ContentGuard is a registered trademark and RightsEdge, XrML, e-contentseller and eXtensible Rights Markup Language are trademarks of ContentGuard Holdings, Inc. All other company and product trademarks are the property of their respective owners.