SANTA CLARA, Calif. and EDWARDSTOWN, South Australia, Dec. 10, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rovi Corporation (Nasdaq:ROVI) and Australia's Hills Industries Limited group (ASX:HIL), through its DGTEC business, today announced that Hills and Rovi have entered into a multi-year patent license agreement for interactive program guide (IPG) patents owned by Rovi.
The agreement provides Hills Industries with a license to the IPG patents under Rovi's patent portfolio for its Hills, DGTEC and other branded set-top boxes, TVs and personal video recorders in the Australian market. This includes CE products developed under the Freeview brand, under the agreement between Rovi and Freeview announced in October 2009 (see "Freeview Signs IPG Cooperation Agreement with Rovi").
"Hills Industries is committed to providing consumers with innovative products for their digital lifestyle," said Steve Mannion, General Manager Sales and Marketing for Hills Antenna & TV Systems.
"By joining Rovi's patent licensing program, we will continue to bring enhanced technologies to our products that provide a compelling entertainment experience, especially as Australia moves to an all digital broadcasting system by the end of 2013," Mr. Mannion said.
"We continue to make progress with our licensing program in Australia and this agreement marks another milestone for Rovi," said Samir Armaly, Senior Vice President, Licensing, Rovi Corporation.
"Hills Industries is committed to bringing the latest home entertainment technologies to Australian consumers and we are very pleased that our intellectual property will help them discover the TV programs that are important to them," Mr. Armaly said.
About Hills Industries Limited and DGTEC
Hills Industries is a AUD1Bn+ ASX-listed company and an iconic Australian-owned organisation. The Group operates businesses in three industry segments: Home, Hardware and Eco Products; Electronic Security and Entertainment Products; and Building and Industrial Products.
DGTEC -- part of Hills' Antenna and TV Systems business within the Group's Electronics Security and Entertainment business -- is an Australian leader in home entertainment solutions. In 2001, DGTEC became the first company in the world to introduce DVB-T high definition set top boxes to a consumer marketplace. Since its acquisition by Hills, DGTEC has grown rapidly to become one of Australia's largest suppliers of set top boxes, personal video recorders, LCD televisions, and iPod docking systems.
About Rovi Corporation
Rovi Corporation is focused on revolutionizing the digital entertainment landscape by delivering solutions that enable consumers to intuitively connect to new entertainment from many sources and locations. The company also provides extensive entertainment discovery solutions for television, movies, music and photos to its customers in the consumer electronics, cable and satellite, entertainment and online distribution markets. These solutions, complemented by industry leading entertainment data, create the connections between people and technology, and enable them to discover and manage entertainment in an enjoyable form.
Rovi holds over 4,200 issued or pending patents and patent applications worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with numerous offices across the United States and around the world including Japan, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom. More information about Rovi can be found at http://www.rovicorp.com/.
The Rovi Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6482
Forward Looking Statements
All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements that use the words "will" or "is expected to," or similar words that describe the Company's or its management's future plans, objectives, or goals, are "forward-looking statements" and are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results and/or from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors are further addressed in the Company's most recent report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2009 and such other documents as are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time (available at www.sec.gov). The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release, except as required by law.