Trident Microsystems Sells Five Patents

Trident Microsystems Inc. has divested five patents to Innovus Prime LLC, a company represented by the California law firm of Aka Chan LLP. The divestiture of these five patents is another milestone in Trident's previously announced strategy to leverage its deep and broad patent portfolio to generate revenue and to provide Trident with a substantial competitive advantage.

As a result of Trident's acquisitions, including TV and audio product lines from Micronas, and the set-top box and TV product lines from NXP B.V., Trident owns and controls a comprehensive portfolio of patents that are foundational to the digital audio and video consumer electronics industries. The portfolio includes Motion Estimation/Motion Compensation (MEMC) technology originally pioneered and patented by Philips. MEMC has become a de facto standard approach to picture quality for LCD and plasma displays in televisions as well as computer monitor, tablet computer and mobile phone displays. Other intellectual property includes demodulator, audio, video, television interface, 3D, conditional access, low power, and general semiconductor circuit technology.

"Trident's patent portfolio is a substantial asset that helps us to protect our position as a leading solutions supplier to the digital home entertainment industry," said Philippe Geyres, CEO of Trident Microsystems. "In addition, through licenses and strategic agreements, we can capitalize on the strength and breadth of our portfolio to generate recurring revenue streams."

In August 2010, Trident announced plans to pursue license agreements with major players in consumer electronics for several of its MEMC patents. Since then, Trident has been actively engaged in licensing discussions and, in January 2011, announced it had licensed part of its MEMC patent portfolio to MStar Semiconductors.

Trident Microsystems