Open Contents Platform Association to be Established

For Immediate Release:

July 12, 2001
Open Contents Platform Association
Establishment Committee

Kyocera Corporation, Sharp Corporation, Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC), and the Tao Group Limited (U.K.) have announced a joint plan which will see the formation of the 'Open Contents Platform Association' (OCPA) in September. It has the aim of creating an open platform for Internet contents and applications to run on any operating system or hardware device resolving many of the technical and commercial problems currently faced by manufacturers, content developers, operators and broadcasters.

With the rapid spread of the Internet, an increasing number of different kinds of online services are becoming an integral part of our daily lives. While today's Internet-connected devices are mainly PCs, PDAs, and mobile communication tools like cellular phones, the near future will see digital appliances like AV products and wireless devices becoming networkable. With so many different kinds of devices connected to the Internet, content providers have to create services and applications that are compatible across the range, not just for a single product type. This change in the industry has resulted in hardware vendors having to deliver a range of products, often with a common range of functions but with dissimilar hardware and operating systems. This creates higher development costs which are in turn eventually passed on to end users, it takes longer to get products to market and also makes it more difficult for the manufacturers to integrate value added technologies which can differentiate and create profits.

This open platform uses intent^(R), a binary portable media platform developed by Tao, which is designed specifically for embedded and networked systems. intent has already received considerable acclaim, including for its compliant Java technologies and multimedia libraries.

The founder companies decided to form the OCPA having arrived at a common understanding that the promotion of an open environment was required in which hardware vendors and content providers could develop their business without the above-mentioned restrictions. This in turn would allow the industry to achieve the establishment and spread of more open networks and platforms. It was agreed that Tao's intent, with its binary portable, hardware and software-independent platform supporting the intent Java(tm) technologies, would allow the OCPA to realize the spread of an open platform while also meeting the broad market needs.

The OCPA's policy is to invite participation from a wide range of bodies from content providers (CPs) and application service providers (ASPs) to hardware vendors and telecommunication companies. The OCPA has distinct advantages for all of these firms. For example, by supporting the OCPA standards, hardware vendors won't have to create new content for their own hardware products but will instead be able to provide their users with a variety of premium content based on the standards. By supporting the OCPA standards, content providers will be able to provide powerful applications and contents to a variety of hardware devices. By supporting the OCPA standards, ASPs will be able to provide a variety of packaged solutions without having to worry about differences between hardware devices.

OCPA members will outline the association and its goals at a July 19 (11:30 a.m. start) conference entitled 'Building an Ideal Environment for Contents Distribution,' part of the Expo Com Wireless Japan with Internet (July 17 to 19, 2001).

The following 22 companies were amongst those to have agreed to participate in the OCPA, as of July 12, 2001: Bandai Networks Co. Ltd, Capcom Co. Ltd., Criterion Software Ltd., Digital Hollywood Corporation, Espial Inc., Fujitsu Prime Software Technologies Ltd., HI Corporation, Justsystem Corporation, Lineo Japan, Inc., MathEngine, plc., Mediaglue Corporation, Metrowerks Co., Ltd., Mobile Computing Technologies Corporation, MontaVista Software Japan, Inc., Plazmic Inc., Prime Atlas, Inc., Sega Enterprises, Ltd., Sybergate KK, SSEYO Ltd., Taito Corporation, Web Soft International Inc., Zoom Systems KK.

Yoshio Mohri, President and CEO of Fujitsu Prime Software Technologies Limited stated, "We are very pleased with the announcement of the establishment of the OCPA. The full binary portability of intent is undoubtedly now recognized as being the most effective solution to enable the smooth distribution of enhanced contents and software. Fujitsu PST supports the objective of OCPA promoting intent and related specifications in an open way without depending upon specific vendors or groups. We will make efforts to pursue further openness and compatibility of intent platform."

Kazunori Ukigawa, President and CEO of Justsystem said, "I am thrilled to contribute further to the market development of Tao's open platform for multimedia content. Tao's rich multimedia technology, based upon its unique virtual processor technology, gives competitive edges to application and content providers. Through the OCPA's activities, Justsystem will help in making Tao's platform even more valuable and attractive for all players involved in the digital home appliance and wireless markets."

Notes to Editors.

The Role of the OCPA

Discuss necessary specifications and make these into a set of standard specifications (the OCPA standards) so that the goal of an open platform can be realized.
Spread these standards based on the principle of openness.
Verify that items like applications, content, and hardware devices work properly and are mutually compatible.
Carry out promotional activities to spread support and standardization of the platform.

Contacts

OCPA Establishment Committee Office : +81 (0)3-5322-7208
Kyocera Corporation, Corporate Communications Division : +81 (0)75-604-3727
Sharp Corporation, Corporate Public Relations Division : +81 (0)6-6625-3006
JVC, Public Relations Office : +81 (0)3-3289-1458
Tao Group Limited, Chris Gent/Jenny Orford, Companycare Communications : +44 (0) 118 939 5900,

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