Press Release Source: Patriot Scientific Corporation
Patriot Scientific Announces Important Patent Licensing Agreement with Casio Wednesday February 22, 9:30 am ET Casio Joins HP as Second "System" Manufacturer to Recognize Need for Digital Hardware Manufacturers to Purchase License for MMP(TM) Core Microprocessor Technologies
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2006--Patriot Scientific Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: PTSC.OB - News) today announced that Casio Computer Co., Ltd. has become the second system manufacturer to purchase a license to use intellectual property protected by the Moore Microprocessor Patent(TM) (MMP) Portfolio. Patriot and The TPL Group are co-owners of the MMP Portfolio, which is being exclusively managed by Alliacense, a TPL Group enterprise. ADVERTISEMENT Following a similar agreement reached with Hewlett-Packard last month, today's announcement further substantiates the need for modern hardware manufacturers to secure MMP Portfolio licenses to cover the entire spectrum of their digital product lines. Terms of the Casio license were not disclosed.
"This marks yet another important license confirming the significance of the patents in our valuable jointly owned portfolio," said Patriot's Chairman and CEO David Pohl. "We are pleased that this licensing decision by Casio represents another notable step toward creating added value for our shareholders."
"The intellectual property represented by the MMP Portfolio, and protected around the world, encompasses building blocks for virtually all digital products being designed and shipped today," said Mac Leckrone, Alliacense president. "The depth and breadth of digital products exploiting MMP Portfolio design techniques is remarkable. We routinely find these techniques used in devices ranging from simple TV remote controls to sophisticated medical diagnostic equipment - from portable media players to complex internet 'backbone' hardware. Today's automobiles have dozens of such devices."
Leckrone noted that once digital hardware vendors recognize their broad reliance on the intellectual property protected by the MMP Portfolio, they appreciate the critical need to secure continued access to the fundamental MMP technologies. "System-level coverage is essential to maintaining product design freedom and avoiding supply-chain disruptions," he explained. Alliacense also offers simple, royalty-free licenses to all semiconductor sector operations, worldwide.
Leckrone confirmed that the MMP Portfolio Licensing Program rewards first movers in their industry sectors with substantial discounts. "By design, our licensing structure enables nimble and forward-thinking system manufacturers to disadvantage their competitors."
Dramatic Turn-Around
"The Alliacense team continues to produce results that increasingly confirm our confidence in their effective strategies and focused efforts," noted Pohl. "The revenues we have realized from licenses to this point along with other recent actions by the company have resulted in significant fiscal strengthening of Patriot Scientific. All of this is consistent with our paramount goal of enhancing shareholder value by growing the business and prudently addressing company fundamentals."
Patriot Scientific's market cap reached a level of more than $185 million as of the close of trading on February 21, 2006 -- having soared upward from $25 million in less than a month.
Two weeks ago, Patriot Scientific announced it would retire all outstanding debentures along with the signing of an agreement giving it the option to buy back what could amount to up to approximately 20 percent of the Company's total outstanding stock warrants. Last week, in an action which is virtually unprecedented among microcap stocks Patriot announced that it would pay a cash dividend to shareholders and qualified warrant holders of record as of February 24, 2006.
Until mid-2005, Patriot had never before shown a quarterly profit, and had never before realized significant revenue from its seminal microprocessor innovations. However, in the past year, the Company's jointly owned patent portfolio has been successfully licensed - through its marketing alliance with The TPL Group's Alliacense division - to Intel, HP and AMD. These first licensing agreements, in their initial disbursements, have generated more than $25 million in revenue for Patriot.
According to Leckrone, the purchase of MMP System Licenses by global system manufacturers such as HP and Casio has increased MMP licensing momentum. He reports that of the hundreds of companies Alliacense has contacted worldwide, dozens have begun to seek licensing arrangements. "The competition for early-round berths in many key market sectors is becoming intense."
About Patriot Scientific
Patriot Scientific (OTC Bulletin Board: PTSC.OB - News) has emerged as an effective and dynamic intellectual property licensing Company, developing and marketing innovative and proprietary semiconductor technologies. The Company's portfolio of proprietary designs encompasses what is believed to be fundamental ultra-low-power array microprocessor technology, as well as pending patents designed to protect Patriot's proprietary technology.
Detailed information about Patriot Scientific can be found on the website www.ptsc.com. Copies of Patriot Scientific press releases, current price quotes, stock charts and other valuable information for investors may be found at www.hawkassociates.com and www.americanmicrocaps.com. An investment profile on Patriot Scientific may be found at http://www.hawkassociates.com/patriot/profile.htm.
About the MMP(TM) Patent Portfolio
The patent portfolio, marketed as the Moore Microprocessor Patent(TM) (MMP) Portfolio, contains intellectual property that is jointly owned by publicly held Patriot Scientific Corporation and the privately held TPL Group. The portfolio encompasses seven US patents as well as their European and Japanese counterparts. Protected through year 2015, these patents protect techniques used in designing microprocessors, microcontrollers, Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), embedded processors and System-on-Chip (SoC) implementations.
In light of the early validation of the MMP Portfolio by license agreements with marquee chip-makers Intel and AMD in 2005, followed by the announcement of a license with HP in early 2006, MMP licensing efforts are now focused on global system manufacturers.
Global sales of end products deploying chips using technologies protected by the jointly owned patents are estimated to be greater than $200 billion annually. The MMP Portfolio is exclusively managed by Alliacense, a TPL Group enterprise.
Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this news release looking forward in time involve risks and uncertainties, including the risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions, trends in the products markets, variations in the Company's cash flow, market acceptance risks, technical development risks, seasonality and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Alliacense, Moore Microprocessor Patent, and MMP are trademarks of Technology Properties Limited (TPL).
Contact: Patriot Media Relations, San Diego Attention Group Daryl Toor, 770-777-9489 dtoor@attentiongroup.com or Patriot Investor Relations Hawk Associates Frank Hawkins/Julie Marshall, 305-451-1888 info@hawkassociates.com
-------------------------------------------------- Source: Patriot Scientific Corporation
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