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October 1, 1998 - Stanford University and Yamaha Corporation today announced the signing of a licensing agreement that allows Korg Inc. to incorporate Sondius-XG synthesis technologies in Korg music synthesizers and other musical instruments.
Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and Yamaha Corporation, headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, launched the Sondius-XG joint licensing program in July, 1997.
Sondius-XG is a unique program that cooperatively promotes the use of their respective intellectual property portfolios in the sound synthesis area.
"This is a significant milestone for the Sondius-XG program and we are very excited to have a company of Korg's stature supporting this technology," said Katharine Ku, the Director of Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing.
Tokyo-based Korg Inc., recognized for creating the first music synthesizer in Japan, develops and markets synthesizers and other musical instruments and joins the Sondius-XG program as its second licensee. Staccato Systems, Inc., a music software developer in California, became the first Sondius-XG licensee in 1997.
"We are delighted that Korg has joined our Sondius-XG licensing program," said Yamaha President Kazukiyo Ishimura. "The support of such an internationally respected manufacturer of musical instruments, sound modules and digital recording systems will help us to popularize our technologies worldwide," Mr. Ishimura added.
The licensing agreement with Korg becomes effective on October 1, 1998.
The Sondius-XG joint licensing program grants the use of over 400 patents and patent applications including basic patents for physical modeling synthesis previously licensed under the name of Sondius by Stanford, and Virtual Acoustic (VA) technology. These are essential for the development of products incorporating increased musical expression and interactivity. The portfolio also includes patents and applications covering Yamaha's WaveTable technology and XG Format.
Sondius-XG enables the creation of realistic, richly expressive sound generation for musical instruments, karaoke and game machines.
The XG format is Yamaha's sound generation format for musical instruments that was developed to achieve data compatibility and a greater degree of expressiveness in musical sound.
Background:
Sondius-XG
This is a joint licensing program that grants the use of over 400 patents and patent applications covering Stanford University's basic physical modeling synthesis patents and development tools, and Yamaha's physical modeling synthesis, WaveTable synthesis and XG format patents, and the technical know-how essential for product commercialization. The license enables development of products that support XG format and use physical modeling and WaveTable synthesis technologies.
Physical modeling synthesis
This is a synthesis technology that reproduces the natural physical sound generation of musical instruments by simulating the sound generation mechanism through signal processing. Unlike WaveTable technology that reproduces digital recordings of the natural sounds of currently popular musical instruments that are stored in the computer's memory, physical modeling allows control of such elements as breath, bow pressure, and other fine adjustments to achieve enhanced musical expressiveness. Using physical modeling technology and by combining components from different musical instruments such as a mouthpiece and pipe, it is possible to create virtual musical instruments that do not exist in the natural world.
XG format
This is a sound generation format for musical instruments developed and advanced by Yamaha to achieve data compatibility and a greater degree of expressiveness in musical sound. XG features tone arrangement and modification, a variety of musical effects, and expandability for the future.
Sondius-XG is a jointly held trademark of Stanford University and Yamaha Corporation. Sondius is a registered trademark of Stanford University. The XG logo is a registered trademark of Yamaha Corporation.
Licensing Information, Stanford University
Mary K. Watanabe
email: license@Sondius-XG.com
Technical Information, Sondius-XG
Goh Futamase, Yamaha Corporation
email: xg-info@emi.yamaha.co.jp
Editorial Information
Kyoko Fujii
email: kfujii@dpr.co.jp
Sondius-XG Home Page:
http://www.Sondius-XG.com