MICRONAS USA LICENSES DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT SECURITY SOLUTION FROM ELLIPTIC

Elliptic Semiconductor, Inc., provider of semiconductor intellectual property cores and software for secure communications, and Micronas USA, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Micronas (Zurich, Switzerland, SWX Swiss Exchange: MASN), a leading supplier of innovative, application-specific IC system solutions for consumer electronics, today announced that Micronas USA has licensed the digital rights management (DRM) Elliptic security solution for use in its system-on-chips (SoCs) aimed at consumer electronics.

The requirements for security in high-definition television and audio-video decoding has become much more challenging over the last few years with multiple DRM and conditional access solutions in use. The partnership between Micronas USA and Elliptic is a great fit as Micronas USA recognizes and understands the evolving needs of its customers in IPTV streaming applications, and Elliptic has extensive experience in rendering cost effective security solutions in silicon.

“Working with Elliptic, we were able address the copy protection and DRM needs of our next generation System on Chip in a cost-effective and timely fashion,” said Reiner Steffens, Director, System Marketing at Micronas USA, Inc. “The broad portfolio of ready-to-use IP cores, combined with in-depth understanding of cryptographic issues made Elliptic a valuable partner. Their cores are a perfect addition to our chip-internal security engine architecture which is tailored to address DRM, Conditional Access, and Content Protection and Copy Management for the IPTV, broadcast TV, and high-definition DVD markets.”

“It has been a great pleasure to work with the team at Micronas USA. They were extremely precise in their requirements, and thorough in their integration and understanding of the capabilities of the IP cores we delivered to them. It was a pleasure to deal with them from project kick-off through completion,” indicated Richard White, President and CEO of Elliptic Semiconductor, Inc. “We look forward to a long-term relationship with Micronas USA and working with them closely as DRM and conditional access in consumer electronics technology evolves.”