Thomson Licenses Digital Rights Management Patents From ContentGuard

PARIS and BETHESDA, MD -- 11/22/2004 -- ContentGuard, Inc., a leading holder of Digital Rights Management (DRM) intellectual property and Thomson (NYSE: TMS) (Euronext Paris: 18453) today announced that Thomson has agreed to a global license to ContentGuard’s portfolio of DRM patents. Thomson’s license allows it to use ContentGuard’s technology and intellectual property to implement DRM solutions across its various business activities, including the replication and distribution of theatrical and home video products, the design and manufacture of professional broadcast and consumer electronic equipment, and the electronic distribution of entertainment content.

“This is another milestone for ContentGuard, as it gives us additional inroads into global media services and consumer electronics markets,” said Michael Miron, Chairman and CEO of ContentGuard. “Through collaboration with Thomson, our other investors and our growing base of licensees, we believe we can speed the use of DRM technology, in turn accelerating expansion of the digital media and entertainment markets.”

“Today’s announcement reflects an important step towards deployment of DRM and the new business models it enables,” said Joe Berchtold, Vice-President and head of Electronic Content Distribution at Thomson. “We believe that the widespread implementation of DRM technologies is a critical step for the growth and success of electronic content distribution. We look forward to working closely with ContentGuard to promote standards and increase choice for consumers looking to watch video, play games and listen to music in new ways.”

About Thomson -- Partner to the Media & Entertainment Industries

Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) provides technology, systems and services to help its Media & Entertainment clients -- content creators, content distributors and users of its technology -- realize their business goals and optimize their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment. The Group intends to become the preferred partner to the Media & Entertainment Industries by offering end-to-end solutions to content creators, video network operators and retailers through its Technicolor, Grass Valley, RCA and Thomson brands. For more information: www.thomson.net

About ContentGuard

ContentGuard, Inc. is an inventor of technologies and intellectual property for digital rights management and the persistent, authorized use of any digital resources. It is helping to expand the market for digital content by developing new technologies, intellectual property and tools for DRM, and driving the adoption of industry standards. ContentGuard licenses patented technologies, which cover broad, fundamental elements of DRM and distributed authorization. Launched in April 2000, ContentGuard conducts its operations in Bethesda, MD and El Segundo, CA. The company is owned by Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS), Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE: TWX) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT). For more information about ContentGuard and its DRM technology please visit www.contentguard.com

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