Premier eBook device manufacturer to expand publishing services to Italian market

 

Naples, Italy and Cleveland, Ohio USA – July 16, 2001 – OverDrive, Inc. (www.overdrive.com) a world leader in software, eCommerce, and content conversion services to the book industry, and IPM-NET (www.ipm-net.com) of Naples, Italy jointly announced today a partnership for offering a comprehensive suite of ePublishing services to the European community.  IPM-NET, a subsidiary of IPM-Group, will be the Italian vendor of OverDrive’s eBook technology services and will localize OverDrive’s eBook tools for the Italian market.

IPM-NET is introducing a premier eBook Reading device, Myfriend. Myfriend is a device that contains eBooks, texts and hypertexts, sounds, animation and images. The device features Microsoft ClearType Technology and a high-resolution color touch-screen.

IPM-NET will adapt OverDrive’s ReaderWorks product line for converting files into Microsoft Reader.  IPM-NET will also offer OverDrive’s MIDAS technology and DRM services for custom eCommerce implementation and secure distribution of content for eBookstores.  The company will be aggregating both English and Italian titles for wholesale distribution in Content Reserve, a digital marketplace for retailers and publishers.  This premier partnership will make IPM-NET the first Italian company to provide all of these types of services to the Italian market.

“In addition to manufacturing our eBook reading device, IPM-NET will expand technology services to the Italian and European publishing industry and eBook marketplace with conversion and secure eBook hosting,” said Salvatore Mattera, Distribution & Management Services Manager for IPM-NET.

“OverDrive is very proud to be partnering with IPM-NET as a technology leader focused on advancing and improving the state of reading,” stated Steve Potash, OverDrive CEO.

The OverDrive IPM-NET partnership will stretch even further across the globe, as IMP-NET will be offering the conversion services of OverDrive Jamaica.  OverDrive Jamaica will begin converting Italian titles for IPM-NET’s publisher customers in addition to current US publishing customers such as Random House, McGraw-Hill and Harper Collins.

 

About IPM-NET  IPM-NET is the latest novelty in the IPM group. IPM-NET’s parent company, IPM-Group, is Italy’s leading telecommunications company and manufacturers of payphone, Internet Appliances, Smart Cards and Access Products. Founded at the end of the year 2000, IPM-Net is to operate in design, production and marketing of Internet appliance products and terminals. Continuing the impetus of Smilephone, the first enhanced telephone offering navigation and e-mail management, commercialized and with tens of thousands of units already produced, IPM-NET’s objective is the creation of multimedia terminals aiming at simplicity, power and security for Internet Appliances, the development of applications with smartcards for online transaction processing and the supply of voice and video multimedia solutions on the Internet. IPM-NET, acronym for “Internet Powered Machines”, comprises 80 employees and two offices in Milan and Naples.

About OverDrive, Inc.  (www.overdrive.com) is a worldwide leader in Open eBook (OEB), .LIT, XML, PDF and Print on Demand (POD) conversion and services for the ePublishing industry. OverDrive’s products for eBook authoring include its free online service at www.ebookexpress.com and ReaderWorks for commercial eBook authoring and “on-the-fly” eBook authoring from Web sites.  The Company provides secure eBookstore hosting and digital rights management as part of its MIDAS Technology incorporating Microsoft Digital Asset Server from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). OverDrive also operates www.ContentReserve.com, a global wholesale digital book service for secure distribution of eBooks and Print-on-Demand files.

Contact:

OverDrive, Inc.

(216) 573-6886 ext. 207

dclark@overdrive.com

 

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