EU Commission Okays Sony, Philips Purchase Dec 23, 2002

Printable format  Email this Article  Search

The European Commission on Monday approved the U.S. $453-million purchase of InterTrust Technologies Corp. (Santa Clara, CA, U.S.) by a group that includes Sony Corp.'s American unit and Royal Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands.

InterTrust, which is locked in a patent fight with Microsoft Corp., specializes in digital-rights management (DRM). DRM software enforces rules on the usage of computerized text, music, movies or other content -- technology that could be used to prevent digitalized music from unauthorized copying.

In a statement, the EU head office said the deal raised "no serious competition concerns" because the market for such software is in its infancy and already a number of a strong competitors are present.

Under the agreement, Fidelio Acquisition Co., which includes Sony of America, Philips, and other investors, will acquire InterTrust for $4.25 a share.

InterTrust, which once negotiated to build its copyright-protection software into Microsoft's Windows operating system, accuses the software giant of violating its patents, and company officials have discussed damage figures in the billions of dollars. (AP)

Back to Daily News