Acacia Research Subsidiary to Receive Royalties From Thomson, Largest Manufacturer of U.S. Televisions, Including RCA and GE Brands.

Business Editors

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2001

Acacia Research Corp. (Nasdaq:ACRI) today announced that its majority-owned subsidiary, Soundview Technologies, will receive payment and grant a nonexclusive license of its U.S. Patent 4,554,584 to television manufacturer Thomson Multimedia Inc.

Thomson is the largest manufacturer of televisions in the United States and includes such brands as GE and RCA. Soundview will receive payment for all television sets manufactured for sale by Thomson in the United States through the expiration of the patent including past sales.

Soundview also recently granted nonexclusive licenses to Philips Electronics, Hitachi, Samsung Electronics, Funai Electric, Sanyo Manufacturing, L.G. Electronics and Daewoo, and settled its lawsuit with Pioneer Electronics. Soundview's patent relates to television video and audio blanking technology, commonly known as V-chip technology.

The license to Thomson is part of a Settlement and License Agreement regarding pending litigation brought by Soundview. The agreement requires that both parties keep the financial terms of the settlement confidential.

Soundview's V-chip technology uses a television's receiver circuitry to decode content rating information sent as part of the broadcast signal. By utilizing the broadcast signal that carries closed-caption data, Soundview's technology is relatively inexpensive to implement. The industry and its trade association adopted this method as the technical standard for new television sets sold in the United States that are required to have V-chip technology.

Federal law requires implementation of the industry-adopted standard. The 1996 Telecommunications Act requires all TV manufacturers to include V-chip technology in new television sets with screens 13 inches or larger sold in the United States after Jan. 1, 2000. Approximately 25 million new televisions are sold each year in the United States.

Soundview has filed a federal patent and antitrust lawsuit against television manufacturers, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association, and the Consumer Electronics Association. In its lawsuit, pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, Soundview alleges that television sets fitted with V-chips infringe Soundview's patent.

Additionally, Soundview alleges that the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association has induced infringement of the patent and that the defendants have violated the federal Clayton and Sherman Antitrust acts by engaging in collusive attempts to prevent others in the electronics and television broadcasting industries from entering into licensing agreements with Soundview Technologies. Soundview is seeking monetary damages, an injunction preventing unlicensed use of its patented technology, and other remedies.

Soundview Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Acacia Research Corp.

About Soundview Technologies Inc.

Soundview Technologies has acquired and developed intellectual property in the telecommunications field, including audio and video blanking systems, also known as V-chip technology. Soundview owns the exclusive right and title to U.S. Patent No. 4,554,584, which describes a cost-efficient method for implementing the V-chip system in parallel with the existing closed-captioning circuits already in place in televisions.

About Acacia Research Corp.

Acacia Research develops and operates life science and enabling technology companies. The company's core technology opportunity has been developed through its subsidiary, CombiMatrix Corp. Acacia Research intends to build and acquire companies in the life science and material science fields that will utilize CombiMatrix's biochip technology. Acacia Research's Web site is located at www.acaciaresearch.com.