LOS GATOS, California — February 18, 2002 — Audible Magic Corporation (www.audiblemagic.com), a leading provider of content management services, announced today the company is testing a prototype system at the University of Wyoming that has the potential to intelligently manage peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing based upon the content and ownership of specific files being traded. The first of a new generation of “content-aware” applications, the system provides the university with detailed information that allows legitimate P2P application traffic while addressing industry concerns about illegal transfers of copyrighted material such as movies and songs.

“The proliferation of P2P file sharing is a real concern for us,” said Robert Morrison, Director of Telecommunications and Systems Services at the University of Wyoming. “The bandwidth utilization of file trading activity grew to over half of the university’s network traffic, and performance for authorized use of the network was severely impacted. In addition, as a university we are sensitive to the issue of protection of intellectual property. We realize a solution that satisfies all the parties involved needs to be more sophisticated than what exists in the market today.”

Universities have been under pressure from organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) to take action that respects the rights of copyright owners. The four organizations sent a letter in October to more than 2,300 colleges and universities calling for immediate, concrete action in regard to file trading of copyrighted material on college networks.

Installed during summer term at the university, the system generates reports for network administrators that present detailed information about the trading activity of specific files. The school has used other systems for managing its network utilization, but Audible Magic’s ability to provide file-specific information holds the promise of a solution that selectively manages and allows non-infringing P2P activity instead of prohibiting all P2P applications.

“This is a flexible solution that respects the privacy of our students and staff while enabling us to make decisions about P2P applications based on both content and bandwidth usage,” added Morrison. “There are a growing number of authorized and legitimate uses for P2P technology within our university, and we feel that Audible Magic’s content-aware approach can provide an ideal long-term solution for us.”

The new system overcomes the limitations of earlier solutions, which recognize P2P applications but not specific files. These systems block specific network ports and protocols used by P2P applications, but the applications have learned to move from port to port, something that does not affect a content-aware application that identifies network file traffic regardless of the port being used.

“Content-aware applications provide the detail needed to manage P2P intelligently,” said Vance Ikezoye, founder and CEO of Audible Magic. “We believe that content-aware applications will find applicability not only in this market, but in other markets where there is a requirement to ensure the legitimate use of copyrighted audio and video content of all types.”

Audible Magic Corporation is the leading provider of content management and anti-piracy services. Its patented content identification technologies and extensive reference database of audio and video content enable the company to monitor, track, manage, filter and monetize multi-media digital content. The company’s core copyright-sensing technology, CopySense®, accurately identifies digital or broadcast media content based on the perceptual characteristics of the content itself. Built on a patented electronic fingerprinting process, the technology is robust, efficient, and massively scalable. Recognized throughout the music and video industry as the de factor leader in identification services, Audible Magic is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. Its customers include Web 2.0 websites, CD/DVD replicators, peer-to-peer networking companies, internet service providers and universities, which span the media and entertainment industries, major business, governmental and educational institutions markets.

For more information, visit Audible Magic’s website at www.audiblemagic.com or contact:

Audible Magic Media & Analyst Inquiries

Jay Friedman
Vice President of Marketing and Product Management
408-399-6405 x238
[email protected]