LTE Patent Owners Meet to Discuss Plan for Patent Pool

Via Licensing Brings Together 14 LTE Patent Owners to Outline Key Deliverables for LTE Pool License

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 04, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Via Licensing Corporation today announced that 14 Long Term Evolution (LTE) patent owners from eight countries met in San Francisco last week to build the framework for a joint patent licensing program (commonly referred to as a patent pool) to support the global adoption of the LTE standard.

"With LTE deployment now an operator reality, the economic logic of moving development cycles ahead to commercialization through patent pools is stronger than ever before," said Frank J. Bernhard, Technology Economist and Managing Principal, Supply Chain and Telecommunications Practice, OMNI Consulting Group. "Our research shows how patent pool licensing demonstrates certain efficiencies in minimizing product lifecycle costs while more quickly generating revenue productivity. From an industry perspective, this translates to a significant competitive advantage in moving technologies, such as LTE, to the foreground."

The companies working with Via Licensing to form an LTE patent pool represent a broad spectrum of leading LTE stakeholders from China, France, Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, and the United States.

"We are pleased with the progress of the recent LTE pool discussions and the participation of essential LTE patent owners from across the globe," said Jean-Michel Bourdon, President of Via Licensing. "The recent discussions provide critical input to our LTE patent licensing program helping address the needs of our partners across the 4G wireless ecosystem and facilitating market delivery of an LTE license on an aggressive time schedule."

The next meeting of LTE patent holders is scheduled for 11--12 March, 2010, in Washington D.C.

Via Licensing is the only patent license administrator to announce plans to form patent licensing programs to support the broad spectrum of technologies that make up the 4G ecosystem, including LTE, IEEE 802.11n, and WiMAX(TM). Today, Via Licensing also operates wireless licensing programs for NFC, Wi-Fi(R), and AGORA-C.

About Via Licensing Corporation

Via Licensing Corporation develops and administers patent licensing programs on behalf of innovative technology companies and for the convenience of licensees. Via Licensing Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!dlb/quotes/nls/dlb (DLB 50.73, -0.20, -0.39%) and benefits from the expertise, infrastructure, and strategic business relationships that Dolby has developed in more than 40 years of licensing into the consumer electronics and personal computing markets. Via Licensing is involved in the development and operation of licensing programs for both mandated and de facto or emerging specifications. For more information about Via Licensing Corporation, please visit www.vialicensing.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the capabilities and benefits of LTE-capable products, the eventual availability and expected timing of a joint patent license for technologies essential to the practice of the LTE standard and the potential benefits of an LTE joint licensing program are "forward-looking statements" that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, and as a result of certain risks and uncertainties actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. The following important factors, without limitation, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements: risks associated with licensing technologies through joint licensing programs; risks associated with licensing industry-standard technologies; market acceptance of LTE-capable devices; rapid changes in networking technologies; risks associated with the development of markets for wireless networking services; and other risks detailed in Dolby's Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including the risks identified under the section captioned "Risk Factors" in its most recent Periodic Report on Form 10-Q or 10-K. Dolby disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. WiMax is a trademark of WiMax Forum. S10/22432

SOURCE: Via Licensing

Via Licensing 
Sean Durkin, 415-645-5176 
sean.d@vialicensing.com