CUPERTINO, Calif. – Oct. 29, 2007 – Alliacense today announced that Royal Philips Electronics has purchased a Moore Microprocessor Patent™ (MMP) Portfolio license from The TPL Group. Philips becomes the 21st MMP licensee in as many months and the third major European company to purchase an MMP license following Schneider Electric and Nokia Corporation.
“We welcome the expansion of our program with Philips, a proven worldwide leader in medical equipment and consumer electronics. This agreement further validates the strength and broad scope of the MMP Portfolio,” said Andre-Pascal Chauvin, Vice President, Licensing for Alliacense.
“It’s pretty common to see the pace of deals pick up as trial approaches,” said Mike Davis, Sr. Vice President, Licensing. “A number of companies that have been following the case closely needed a little time to evaluate the recent Markman ruling, and are now moving to capture licenses at current prices and avoid significantly higher royalty rates following trial.”
“Other developments we’re watching with interest include mounting pressure from retailers on product manufacturers to resolve patent infringement issues expeditiously and avoid major market disruptions that could result from injunction or ban on imports,” said Davis. This issue was highlighted recently in Broadcom v. Qualcomm ITC case, which placed a ban on the import of new mobile handsets and led one mobile service provider, Verizon, to step in and resolve the matter on its own.
The sweeping scope of applications using MMP design techniques continues to encourage manufacturers of end user products from around the globe to become MMP licensees. Since January 2006, HP, Casio, Fujitsu, Sony, Nikon, Seiko Epson, Pentax, Olympus, Kenwood, Agilent, Lexmark, Schneider Electric, NEC Corporation, Funai Electric, SanDisk, Sharp Corporation, Nokia, Bull, LEGO, and Denso Wave have all purchased MMP Portfolio licenses.
About the MMP Portfolio
The Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio contains intellectual property that is jointly owned by the privately-held TPL Group and publicly-held Patriot Scientific Corporation (OTCBB: PTSC). The portfolio includes seven U.S. patents as well as their European and Japanese counterparts. It is becoming widely recognized that the jointly-owned patents protect fundamental technology used in designing microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), embedded processors and system-on-chip (SoC) devices. Manufacturers of microprocessor-based products can learn more about how to participate in the MMP Portfolio Licensing Program by contacting: mmp-licensing@alliacense.com.
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is a global leader in healthcare, lifestyle and technology, delivering products, services and solutions through the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 125,800 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2006, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.
About Alliacense
Alliacense is a TPL Group Enterprise executing best-in-class design and implementation of Intellectual Property (IP) licensing programs. As a cadre of IP licensing strategists, technology experts, and experienced business development/management executives, Alliacense focuses on expanding the awareness and value of TPL’s IP portfolios. Founded in 1988, The TPL Group has emerged as a coalition of high technology enterprises involved in the development, management and commercialization of proprietary product technologies as well as the design, manufacture and sales of proprietary products based on those technologies and corresponding IP assets. For more information, visit www.alliacense.com.
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Alliacense and Moore Microprocessor Patent (MMP) are trademarks of Technology Properties Limited (TPL). All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.