yawn ... something to remind us why we are here
posted on
Jan 09, 2006 10:18AM
Roger Cook, a senior patent litigator with the highly regarded law firm of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, has been instrumental in licensing the portfolio to one of the world`s pre-eminent microprocessor manufacturers. Cook said, ``This portfolio appears to be a patent litigator`s dream.``
TPL and Patriot believe at least three of the ten patents are elemental to virtually every microprocessor design. The three most significant of these patents are as follows:
U.S. 5,809,336: Clocking CPU and I/O Separately
U.S. 6,598,148: Use of Multiple Cores and Embedded Memory
U.S. 5,784,584: Multiple Instruction Fetch
Both The TPL Group and Patriot Scientific believe these now-unified patents, which were granted in 1998 and which don`t expire until 2015, have long been essential to the design of modern high-speed microprocessors. These now-allied firms are now in position to maximize the value of this patent portfolio. Global sales by potential licensees of products applying technologies protected by the jointly owned patents are estimated to be greater than $200 billion annually.
As an active intellectual property company specializing in microprocessor technology, Patriot Scientific retains rights to make and market array microprocessor products and technologies under its current IGNITE™ and INFLAME™ brands, as well as a range of other products and technologies not utilizing the patents covered by this new agreement.
``This accord represents an important milestone for our company,`` said Jeff Wallin, president and CEO of Patriot Scientific. ``This agreement replaces costly ongoing litigation with a win-win scenario that supports our efforts to license and protect our company`s intellectual property on a broader scale. The TPL Group is well-positioned to aggressively license these core technology patents, freeing Patriot Scientific to focus on our equally innovative IGNITE and INFLAME array microprocessor core technologies, as well as other innovations currently in our development pipeline.``
TPL Group Chairman Dan Leckrone, reaffirmed his company`s longstanding philosophy to encourage cooperation instead of litigation. ``Since TPL began managing intellectual property more than 15 years ago, our business strategy has always been driven by relationship building and constructive cooperation. Our agreement with Patriot Scientific is a good example of this strategy at work.``
The TPL Group announced that the licensing program for the patents will be managed by Alliacense, a core group of senior TPL Group executives directly responsible for the development and commercialization of the firm`s patent portfolios.
About The TPL Group
Founded in 1985, Cupertino California-based TPL Group has a solid track record in delivering a complete suite of intellectual property management services. In addition to optimizing IP Portfolio value and protecting assets from infringement, the company is also well versed in converting portfolio value into a maximum cash return for its owner(s). Through Alliacense, a cadre of its senior executives, the TPL Group manages IP Licensing Programs across a broad array of industries.