OTTAWA, Canada – July 31, 2007 – Wi-LAN Inc. (“Wi-LAN”, or the “Company”) (TSX: WIN) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Wi-LAN V-chip Corp. has concluded running royalty licensing agreements for Wi-LAN’s United States Patent No. 5,828,402 and Canadian Patent No. 2,179,474 with Shenzhen MTC Co., LTD. of Guangdong China. The licenses are valid through the expiration of the patents in 2016.
Shenzhen MTC is an OEM/ODM consumer electronic products manufacturer well known in the European market for specializing in the manufacture of DVD products and set-top-boxes. The Company also has plans to produce products that compliment the digital transition in the United States and Canada.
“These are the first licenses concluded by Wi-LAN V-chip Corp. since the transfer of the patents as part of the Tri-Vision merger less than a month ago,” said Wi-LAN V-chip Corp. President Najmul Siddiqui. “We are delighted to welcome Shenzhen MTC to our growing V-chip family, which now includes 97 licenses for the Canadian and/or U.S. Patents.”
Some of the many companies that have been licensed to one or both of Wi-LAN’s V-chip patents include: Sony, Hitachi, Sanyo, Pioneer, Philips, JVC, Panasonic, LG Electronics, Samsung, Funai, Toshiba, ViewSonic, Syntax-Brillian, NEC, Humax, Jabil Circuit, Nakamichi and Falcon Digital. A number of other major industry players, including Dell Inc., have committed to selling televisions under the V-chip license.
About Wi-LAN Inc.
Wi-LAN, which was founded in 1992, licenses intellectual property that applies to a full range of products in the communications and consumer electronics markets. Some of the fundamental technologies covered by Wi-LAN’s patents include: CDMA, DSL, DOCSIS, V-chip, Wi-Fi and WiMAX. Wi-LAN has already licensed its intellectual property to a number of companies around the world.
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, may include forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties. These may include, without limitation, statements based on current assumptions and expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties related to all aspects of the wireless and wireline communications industry and the global economy. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not restricted to: the almost exclusive reliance of the Company on licensing its patent portfolio to generate revenues and cash flows; that the Company may be required to establish the enforceability of its patents in court to obtain material licensing revenues; that the Company will need to acquire or develop new patents to continue to grow its business; that the Company requires investment to translate its intellectual property position into sustainable profit in the market; that the Company is dependent on the performance of its key officers and employees; that changes in patent legislation or in the interpretation or application of patent litigation could materially adversely affect the Company; and that the Company has and may make acquisitions of products, technologies or businesses which could materially adversely affect the Company. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ from information contained herein, when estimates and assumptions have been used to measure and report results. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.
All trademarks and brands mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.
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For more information please contact Wi-LAN at:
Lynne Bermel,
Director IR and Communications
O: 613.688.4897
E: lbermel@wi-lan.com
