Micronas, the market leader in MP3 decoder technology, plans to achieve this through strategic co-operation with Internet content providers and the music industry.

From the start, the success of the MP3 digital audio standard has been accompanied by a fierce debate on download security. The music industry in particular has been actively fighting internet piracy and early this year its endeavours led to the largest joint initiative in the history of the entertainment industry: the SDMI. 150 disk companies, internet service providers, software manufacturers, internet content providers, technology companies, equipment makers and PC manufacturers drew up guidelines for the legal use and reproduction of digital audio data.

The SDMI initiative is intended to assure the legal future of digital standards such as MP3 by providing all parties concerned with a reliable development perspective. While SDMI defined the requirements and basic specifications for security standards, it did not specify a standard download security system. Instead, it has been left to market mechanisms to determine which download security systems will ultimately prove successful for digital audio standards such as MP3, AAC, ATRAC, EPAC, and MS Audio 4.0.

Consumers of electronics entertainment equipment have historically been unwilling to change standards, software, or invest in new hardware. For this reason, Micronas intends to establish a reliable and standardised system for end-customers and equipment manufacturers that achieves the required investment security. Introduction of a new Micronas MP3 chip that is fully compliant with the SDMI requirements regarding the security of copyrights and reproduction rights is expected early next year.

About Micronas

Micronas (SWX:MASN) is an international semiconductor company. Micronas Holding AG is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Its activities include the development, manufacture and marketing of integrated circuits and sensors for system solutions for multimedia, consumer and automotive electronics. These worldwide activities are coordinated from Freiburg, Germany. Currently the Micronas group employs over 1300 people and has generated over CHF 280 Mil. in sales in 1998. For more information please contact Iris Bahr by phone: +49-761-517-2324, fax: +49-761-517-2622 or e-mail docservice@intermetall. You can also visit www.micronas.com for more company and product information.