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jazzmyne PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: MAKEDA SMITH AUGUST 23, 2000 SONGBOY.COM AND NINTENDO
SETTLE LAWSUIT ON DIGITAL MUSIC PLAYER Songboy.Com Agrees to
Change Corporate and Product Name of Digital Music Module PALO ALTO, Calif., August 23, 2000-- Song-Pro.Com, Inc.
("Song-Pro"), formerly known as Songboy.Com, Inc. announced today that it
has reached settlement of a
lawsuit pending in the United States District Court in Seattle with
Nintendo of
America Inc. ("Nintendo") to resolve all outstanding
claims brought by Nintendo against Songboy.Com. Song-Pro has
developed a digital music player module that can be used with the Nintendo Game Boyâ
pocket
and Game
Boyâ Color video game systems.
Nintendo had sued Song-Pro for infringement of its intellectual
property rights. As a result of the settlement, Song-Pro agreed to change the company
name and the product’s name from Songboy™ to Song-Pro™ and Nintendo
has granted Song-Pro a patent license. "We are
pleased that we were able to come together and find a common ground
for agreement, " notes Richard Flamm, vice president and general
counsel, Nintendo of America. "Nintendo
is committed to protecting its intellectual property rights and we appreciate
Song-Pro's cooperation in resolving this situation." “Nintendo
should be commended for coming together with Song-Pro, a company that
we believe is a cutting edge Internet-technology venture. It is an important association with a minority
firm and we herald the opportunity,” explains Mark Bush, CMO of Song-Pro. “The agreement will allow us to pursue our vision of extending the digital music revolution to an entirely new market by providing the most affordable players to a user base of 100 million portable game device users,” adds Ron Jones, president and CEO of Song-Pro. Both companies attracted media attention when Nintendo filed a lawsuit for trademark and patent infringement against Songboy.Com. Reverend Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition Silicon Valley Project facilitated a meeting between the two and brought both companies together. “We are more
than pleased that we have been able to reach an amicable arrangement
between the two companies,” cites Jackson. “It has always been the goal
of the Rainbow/PUSH Silicon Valley Project to actively seek to create
and promote opportunities for women and minorities in Silicon Valley.
We wholeheartedly embrace Nintendo’s action.” “It’s a great
day in America’s business community,” exudes Ron Jones, the Song-Pro
product’s inventor. “With the
legal dispute with Nintendo behind us, I’m looking forward to truly
exciting opportunities in the future!” For more information
on Nintendo, visit the company's official Web sites at www.nintendo.com or www.pokemon.com. |