Semiconductor Insights launches IPinsights Patent Brokerage

OTTAWA, June 24, 2004 - Semiconductor Insights (SI), the leader in technical and patent analyses of integrated circuits and structures, today announced the formal launch of its IPinsights Patent Brokerage business. "SI has been supporting licensing and litigation professionals in the microelectronics industry for 15 years. During this time, we have participated in virtually every major semiconductor licensing campaign and have come to know who the key players are, what makes a patent supportable, who is seeking to acquire, and who wants to sell. As well, our breadth of contacts allows us to amalgamate individual patents from multiple sources into a saleable portfolio", said Dr. Douglas Smeaton, President and CEO of Semiconductor Insights. "We have informally offered these services for years to selected clients and we are excited about the prospects for this more comprehensive Patent Brokerage offering."

A variety of industry forces have combined to put patent brokerage in the spotlight — some motivating sellers, others motivating buyers. Many companies have worked to grow their patent portfolios in response to the success of corporations like IBM and TI, who continue to generate billions from patent licensing royalties each year. At the same time, escalating patent maintenance fees at a time of fiscal restraint have helped motivate other companies to cull their portfolios, particularly where M&A activity brought more patents into the corporate fold. Some companies, coming off the heels of rapid market success, became licensing targets without their own patent arsenal for defense and are now keen to acquire patents quickly. Some entrepreneurs recognized "licensing" as a business unto itself, and have acquired patents for licensing only, rather than for developing commercial products or technology. In addition, technology convergence has created new and generally increased competition, requiring the key players to re-examine their patent portfolio requirements. The combined result of all these forces is a lot of prospective buyers and sellers representing an estimated 150,000 electronics patents each year — all in a very inefficient market place.

"Increasingly, effective execution of corporate strategy has direct implications on the size and make up of a company's patent portfolio", said Smeaton. "Historically, however, the acquisition and divestment of patents within the electronics industry has been inhibited by the lack of a viable marketplace of qualified buyers and sellers. A further impediment has been the great importance of confidentiality — you don't want to tip your competitors to your corporate strategy. Semiconductor Insights is uniquely positioned to answer these challenges with our in-depth technical knowledge of patents and technology and our international network of corporate and legal contacts, established through 15 years in the semiconductor licensing and litigation field."

For more information on Patent Brokerage or other IPinsights offerings, please visit www.semiconductor.com.

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About Semiconductor Insights
Semiconductor Insights helps leading-edge technology companies and licensing professionals attain their product and intellectual property goals by providing in-depth technology and patent analyses of integrated circuits and structures. Our international client base spans Fortune 500 Enterprises, Governments, Legal Firms, Start-ups, and Venture Capitalists. Within the semiconductor industry, we have participated in virtually every major licensing campaign over the past 15 years, and count 47 of the top 50 companies among our clients. For more information, please visit us on the web at www.semiconductor.com.