Are there sources besides this article that Exient really bought the monopolies (copyrights, trademarks) from Sony, not merely a license?
Reason: Author in that article writes "current license holder Exient (who acquired the property from Sony)". This doesn't make any sense to me. If you hold the intellectual monopolies yourself, you don't need a licence. I'd wager that he really means that Exient got the license from Sony, not the monopolies.
-- Simon