DIEPHOLZ, Germany, October 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- Artec Technologies is Investigating Legal Steps Against Arcor in Regard
to its Patent for Time-Shifted Television

- Patent Protects the Development of an IPTV Service With "Time-Shift"
Functions

artec technologies AG., located in Diepholz, Germany, close to Bremen, is
presently checking a potential infringement upon its patent rights by Arcor
Inc. & Co. KG on a process for the network-based recording and playback of
multimedia streams. After artec technologies had developed the process back
in 2000 and applied for a patent on the process in 2001, the German patent
and trademark office issued the patent protection on the process in 2006. A
distinctive characteristic of the patented process is its ability to record
live contents continuously and - while still recording - to call up and play
back those contents with time shifting. In case a viewer switches on a
running program after it has already started, he/she can still view the
program from the very beginning, pause the program at any point, and rewind
or fast-forward it to any specific scene desired. Functions of this kind are
usually designated as "time-shifting" on recorders with integrated hard
drives and/or set-top boxes. In contrast to these time-shift functions on
such recorders and set-top boxes, the live recordings made by the process
developed and patented by artec technologies are not recorded and stored on
the device itself, but rather on a central server. The contents stored on the
server can then be called up by a multitude of users even during the actual
recording itself. This makes temporary storage on devices placed in the
living room superfluous.

At "CeBIT 2007", Arcor presented a new IPTV offering and announced its
planned market introduction in the near future. Central to this IPTV service
is the function designated by Arcor as "Timeshift restart." Among other
things, this is intended to permit users to go back and view from the very
beginning broadcasts which are already running. In September 2007, Arcor
announced additional details on its intended IPTV offering. From the
perspective of artec technologies, there are various indications that these
functions announced by Arcor derive from direct infringement on artec's
patents for its own process. Currently, the attorneys for artec technologies,
including specialists in patent law, are investigating possible actions
against Arcor because of infringement upon patent rights.

Artec technologies attaches considerable strategic significance to its
patent. The process, developed seven years ago, is presently one of the very
central functions for artec's set-up and development of forward-looking IPTV
services. The northern German company has already sold its system to a number
of television companies world-wide. Moreover, a telecommunications' provider
in Germany has already been supplied with artec systems which enable
time-shifted television via IPTV. In the future, artec technologies
anticipates conspicuously rising demand for and sizable turnover profits from
server-based systems for IPTV.

About artec technologies AG - The public stock company artec technologies
AG from the traditional county seat of Diepholz, near Bremen, Germany, is
active in the business areas of "Digital Video Security" and "Streaming
Media/IPTV". The company is one of the technological leaders in the field of
system solutions for digital coverage, analysis, recording and transmission
of video, audio and data from third-party systems via various kinds of
networks. In the business area of digital video security, the company
develops and markets products and system solutions for digital video
surveillance with the brand name of "MULTIEYE". In the second area, artec
develops and markets products and system solutions on the basis of its
"XentauriX" platform, which is primarily used for IPTV applications as well
as recording TV/radio live broadcasts. At present, artec has placed more than
12,000 systems from both branches around the world.

Additional information:

    HOSCHKE & CONSORTEN, Public Relations, Peter Jefimiec
    Mail: p.jefimiec@hoschke.de / Fon: +49-(0)-40-369050-53
    Alexandra Jordans
    Mail a.jordans@hoschke.de / Fon: +49-(0)-40-369050-30
    Fax: +49-(0)-40-369050-10