Asia PR News

TOKYO, March 31 /Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/ –

The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C), the industry body consisting of eight
leading developers of DVD technology and formats- Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita
Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation,
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Victor
Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) and Warner Home Video Inc. - today announced that
the minimum royalty for DVD-R Discs for eligible licensees will be reduced to
4.5 US cents per disc sold on or after January 1, 2006 for companies that enter
into a DVD6C category license, and it has provided an incentive for
manufacturers of DVD-R Discs to become licensed under the DVD6C DVD-R Disc
patents on or before May 31, 2006.

The DVD6C’s patent minimum royalty for DVD-R Discs is 7.5 US cents per disc
sold on or before December 31, 2004, 6.5 US cents per disc sold on or after an
effective date of a category license, for licensees who signed the category
license agreement on or after January 1, 2005, and the new minimum royalty will
be 4.5 US cents per disc sold on or after January 1, 2006.

Under the incentive program, for the companies that enter into the category
license to cover DVD-R Disc patents on or before May 31, 2006, the new minimum
royalty for DVD-R Discs will be made retroactive to past sales on or after
January 1, 2004.

Current licensees that have previously entered into the category license will
also benefit from this incentive program. The licensees that have already paid
royalties under a category license will be entitled to receive a credit against
future royalties.

Interested parties will remain free to negotiate individual license agreements
with DVD6C’s member companies, rather than taking licenses from DVD6C. The
member companies have committed to provide such licenses under fair, reasonable
and non-discriminatory terms and conditions.

Source: DVD6C Licensing Group
(Authorized Licensor: Toshiba Corporation)

For further information, please contact one of the following regional agents:

Japan:
Toshihiro Shinohara
Vice President and General Manager
Licensing
Toshiba DVD License Services, Inc.
5th Floor, Sumitomo-Hamamatsucho Bldg.
18-16, Hamamatsucho 1-chome, Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-0013, Japan
Phone: +81-3-5777-3286
Fax: +81-3-5401-2503
E-mail: toshihiro.shinohara@toshiba-tdls.co.jp

Europe and Africa:
Masahiro Ogura
Vice President & General Manager
Toshiba of Europe Limited
Santander House, 6th Flr, 100 Ludgate Hill,
London EC4M 7RE, United Kingdom
Phone: +44-20-7332-9862
Fax: +44-20-7332-9889
E-mail: masahiro.ogura@toshiba.co.jp

Asia (excluding Japan), Oceania and the Middle East:
Joji Ozaki
Department Manager
DVD Licensing Center
Hitachi Ltd.
Shin-Otemachi Bldg., 2-1 Otemachi 2-chome,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan
Phone: +81-3-4232-5052
Fax: +81-3-4232-5091
E-mail: joji.ozaki.xv@hitachi.com

The Americas :
Masahisa Saito
Panasonic Corporation of North America
Exclusive Regional Agent for DVD 6C Licensing Agency
c/o Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
201 Redwood Shores Parkway
Redwood Shores, California 94065, USA
Phone: +1-650-802-3146
Fax: +1-650-802-3100
E-Mail: saitom@us.panasonic.com

Press Contact:
Junko Furuta
Toshiba Corporation
Corporate Communications Office
Phone: +81-3-3457-2105
Fax: +81-3-5444-9202
URL: http://www.toshiba.co.jp/contact/media.htm

SOURCE: DVD6C Licensing Group