PRESS RELEASE
Evixar Inc. (Matsui Bldg. 1F, 1-17-22 Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Atsushi TAKIGAWA, Securities code: TSE 4257) has been granted a patent in the U.S. and China for an acoustic communication technology which has already been patented in Japan, and which enables movies to be enjoyed by people with visual or hearing impairment or other language speakers. This increases the chance of obtaining a patent in Europe and other regions, and the possibility for sound and subtitle guides using the technology to become the international de facto standard, since there are no other easy methods of making movies accessible. Evixar’s applications can be made multilingual, not only for people with disabilities. Annually, about 5,500 titles are released by the top 10 movie-making countries. If all of these movies were to be made available in 100 languages, then the fees earned from use of our technology could reach hundreds of billions of yen.
Japanese movie theaters have already made movies accessible by using the free application “HELLO! MOVIE”, which enables audiences to access subtitles or acoustic guides with their smartphone or smart glasses, as well as by lending special caption projection glasses. All of these devices use the acoustic communication technology developed by Evixar, which controls in real time devices such as smartphones, smart glasses, and robot terminals by making them automatically recognize “fingerprints” in sound (sources) stored in databases or special sounds containing embedded encrypted data (watermarked sound).
For example, it is possible to control the subtitles and audio guides without editing the movie data itself by inserting watermarked sound in advertisements or awareness campaign movies to prevent secret filming which are screened immediately before a movie.
We obtained a patent for this technology in July 2017 in Japan, while simultaneously filing a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application.
Accessibility is a common issue in the world: movie theaters in the U.S. and elsewhere are trying to offer accessibility by overhauling their projection systems. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, many of them are hesitating to renew their systems due to the severe business situation, while movie producers are reluctant to edit movies to provide accessibility. This situation is a tailwind for Evixar’s “HELLO! MOVIE” system as it does not require significant investment in facilities or editing of the movie itself.
Going forward, Evixar will actively encourage movie studios that are members of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and located mainly in Hollywood to use our technology as a platform, while continuing to acquire patents in Europe and other regions.
Accessibility service of titles acquired in Japan by Warner Bros. Japan and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan are already available now, by adoping Evixar's "HELLO! MOVIE".