CONTENTGUARD CONTRIBUTES XrML TO OASIS STANDARDS CONSORTIUM

ContentGuard, HP, Microsoft, Reuters and VeriSign among the first to join the OASIS Rights Language Technical Committee

Bethesda, MD, April 03, 2002 - ContentGuard, Inc., the leading provider of Digital Rights Language technology, today announced it would contribute the eXtensible rights Markup Language (XrML) to OASIS, the XML interoperability standards consortium, for long-term development and governance of the rights language. This contribution is in support of the OASIS Rights Language Technical Committee, which was formed to advance a common XML digital rights language standard for the DRM marketplace.

ContentGuard also confirmed today that it will hand control of XrML to an international standards organization. The company is currently in discussions with several standards organizations about accepting this governance role. By allowing the governance and development of XrML to be managed by an independent body, ContentGuard is seeking to open up XrML's future development to broad industry participation.

"ContentGuard is delivering on its promise to turn XrML over to a global standards body," said Michael Miron, ContentGuard CEO. "After extensive research and numerous discussions with members of the standards community and industry leaders we are confident that OASIS, an international standards consortium focused on developing interoperable specifications built on public standards such as XML, is in the best position to oversee XrML's development and work with other standards organizations who share a common vision of a single extensible rights language standard."

Through the establishment of the OASIS Rights Language Technical Committee, content owners, DRM developers and all technology providers now have an open and well-recognized forum allowing them to participate in the development of a worldwide standard digital rights language. In addition, the committee is well positioned to extend XrML directly or in concert with other standards groups to address the specific needs of various industry sectors. The technical committee is also expected to form liaisons and establish work processes with other standards organizations, such as MPEG-21, that are committed to standardizing a digital rights language.

"We applaud ContentGuard's decision to contribute XrML to the OASIS Rights Language Technical Committee," said Warwick Ford, VeriSign CTO. "Establishing an open forum, in which all companies interested in developing a rights language can play an active role, is the best way to determine a standard that will benefit the industry as a whole."

Establishing a standard and universal Digital Rights Language would help enable interoperability between systems that manage digital content or Web Services. This will expand the market for DRM solutions that distribute e-Content and speed the commercialization of Web Services.

"Open standards, scalability and extensibility have been the basis for the explosive growth of the Internet, and Hewlett-Packard Company believes that standards also will be important for the successful adoption of DRM in information commerce," said John Erickson, systems program manager for digital rights management, HP Labs. "HP is pleased to be a sponsoring member of the OASIS Rights Language TC and will continue to drive for open standards for digital rights management."

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About XrML
XrML, the language for digital rights management, provides a universal method for specifying rights and conditions associated with the use and protection of digital content and services. Originally developed at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), the specification facilitates the creation of an open architecture for rights management of digital content or services. It can be integrated with both existing and new DRM systems. XrML is a general-purpose rights language, agnostic to the type of resource, platform, media or business applications. The latest release, XrML 2.0, expands the capabilities of a Digital Rights Language to enable developers to establish the rights and conditions needed to access Web Services in addition to discrete digital content. It also contains additional capabilities in the areas of extensibility, security and life cycle management. For more information about XrML please visit www.xrml.org.

About ContentGuard, Inc.
ContentGuard, Inc. is driving the standard for interoperability in Digital Rights. The company's broad foundation patent portfolio, related to the use of any Digital Rights Language, and its Digital Rights Language, XrML (eXtensible rights Markup Language) 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 is owned by Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX), with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) holding a minority position. For more information, please visit www.contentguard.com.

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Media Contacts:
Gina Giachetti, Text 100 for ContentGuard, Inc, 415-593-8432, email ginag@text100.com
Nandita Sankaran, Text 100 for ContentGuard, Inc, 415-593-8457, email nanditas@text100.com

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