CUPERTINO, California – 3 December 2012 – Alliacense announced today that Sierra Wireless, Inc. has purchased an MMP™ Portfolio license. The agreement resolves the ITC Investigation and District Court lawsuit recently filed against Sierra Wireless, an industry-leading mobile computing and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications products and solutions company. Sierra joins a roster of nearly 100 MMP Licensees that include some of the world’s largest electronics companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Sony, Nokia, General Electric, ASUStek, and Philips.
In July, MMP Portfolio owners, Technology Properties Limited (TPL) and Patriot Scientific Corporation (PTSC), launched the first wave of aggressive enforcement activities, filing a complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and corresponding complaints in the US District Court for the Northern District of California against 13 companies believed to be infringing the MMP Portfolio patents. Sierra Wireless is the first of the 13 companies to purchase an MMP License.
The three-pronged enforcement strategy includes: (1) a Complaint filed with the US International Trade Commission seeking an Exclusion Order prohibiting the importation of unlicensed products; (2) parallel actions in US District Court seeking damages for past infringement that includes past un-paid royalties — plus the interest which has accrued on those royalties — both tripled for willful infringement, plus attorney’s fees; and, (3) the pursuit of injunctions in both the US District Court and the ITC barring the sale of infringing products in the United States in the future.
The remaining ITC respondents are: Acer Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Barnes & Noble Inc., Garmin Ltd., HTC Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Kyocera Corporation, LG Electronics, Nintendo Co. Ltd., Novatel Wireless Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and ZTE Corporation.
About Alliacense
Alliacense is the recognized leader in the design and execution of Intellectual Property (IP) licensing programs, and delivers peerless IP project support and reverse engineering services. As a cadre of IP licensing strategists, technology experts, and experienced business development/management executives, Alliacense focuses on expanding the awareness and value of IP portfolios under management. Learn more: www.alliacense.com.
About the MMP Portfolio™
The MMP Portfolio patents, originated by The TPL Group in 1989, includes US, European and Japanese patents, covering techniques that enable higher performance and lower cost designs essential to consumer and commercial digital systems ranging from PCs, cell phones and portable music players to communications infrastructure, medical equipment and automobiles. Widely recognized as fundamental technology, the sweeping scope of MMP Portfolio™ technologies continues to encourage the world’s leading companies to become MMP Portfolio™ licensees. Learn more: customerservice@alliacense.com.