Aurigin Systems and IBM Form an E-Commerce and Marketing Alliance for Electronic Distribution and E-Commerce.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 1998--

Agreement Allows IBM Patent Server Users to Access Aurigin's

SmartPatent(R) Electronic Patents and WorkBench

Aurigin Systems, Inc. demonstrated its commitment to broadening the use of intellectual asset management solutions today by announcing an electronic distribution and marketing alliance with International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation.

Users of the IBM Patent Server can download SmartPatent Electronic Patents for use with an upgraded version of the SmartPatent(R) WorkBench.

Online access to the SmartPatent Electronic Patents and SmartPatent WorkBench enables users, on a per document cost basis, to build an electronic patent document database in order to perform detailed document-level analysis to support decision making in areas such as licensing and patent litigation.

SmartPatent Electronic Patents are fully indexed versions of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that include hyperlinks to section headings and patented linking between the ASCII text and the image file of the document.

These electronic patents are designed for use with the SmartPatent WorkBench, an interactive application for Windows 95 and Windows NT users. Users can search for patents on the IBM web site and download the selected documents in the SmartPatent Electronic Patent format to the SmartPatent WorkBench to create, maintain and navigate a customized local patent "library."

The SmartPatent WorkBench integrates organizational and document level analytical capabilities that allow users to conduct broad or narrow searches of their patents. An advanced, patented hyper-annotation feature permits users to institutionalize their thought process by automatically linking their annotations to user-highlighted text in multiple documents.

"The SmartPatent WorkBench from Aurigin Systems brings a valuable and practical new capability to the IBM Patent Server that we believe will benefit our users," said Peter Vanderheyden, WW Solution Manager, Public Access, IBM. "With it, they can grow their own database of interactive US patent documents while using the Patent Server as their online source to search for relevant patents.

"IBM is excited to include Aurigin in a growing list of suppliers participating in the IBM Patent Server. Our customers will find increasing value as we grow the list of products and services accessible from this popular and valuable IBM solution."

"Aurigin is aggressively implementing E-commerce options for its customers," said Dan'l Lewin, president of Aurigin. "Our relationship with IBM benefits end users of IBM's Patent Server with an easy-to-use, proven application that delivers a 'hands-on' complement to IBM's searching system. This relationship underscores the fact that patent document analysis and related IP asset management is a growing and critical business category."

The SmartPatent WorkBench version that will be offered through the IBM Patent Server is an upgrade of the existing version, v4.3, currently available under license at no charge. Like v4.3, the new version, v4.5, is designed for 32bit Windows 95 and Windows NT desktop users.

SmartPatent Electronic Patents used with the SmartPatent WorkBench can be upgraded at no charge for use with the Aurigin(TM) Intellectual Property Asset Management (IPAM) System. This flagship product is the only Windows and Intranet-based software platform that includes the robust analysis tools and multi-dimensional databases required for organizing and analyzing intellectual assets in a corporate portfolio.

Pricing and Availability

The SmartPatent WorkBench v4.5 is expected to be available to IBM Patent Server users and Aurigin customers in the fourth quarter of 1998 for licensed download at no charge. SmartPatent Electronic Patent downloads will be priced individually.

Existing SmartPatent WorkBench customers will be licensed, for no charge, a SmartPatent WorkBench v4.5 upgrade or can download the application directly from the IBM Patent Server. Prospective customers can place orders for the SmartPatent WorkBench v4.5 and obtain further information about the SmartPatent WorkBench and SmartPatent Electronic Patents on Aurigin's web site at www.aurigin.com.

About the IBM Patent Server

The IBM Patent Server is a publicly available website located at www.ibm.com/patents http://www.ibm.com/patents. Since January of 1997 the site has delivered free access to U.S. patents text back to 1971 and images back to 1974 at no charge to the public.

About Aurigin Systems

Founded in 1992, Aurigin Systems, Inc. (formerly SmartPatents, Inc.) develops business automation systems for intellectual asset management that allow organizations to manage the "life" of protectable ideas to maximize their market value.

Aurigin products enable customers to design long-term, profitable business and product strategies, by allowing companies to take stock of their intellectual property assets and relate them to business issues.

Aurigin is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information, telephone [phone], visit www.aurigin.com or send email to [e-mail].

Note to Editors: Aurigin's products are covered by the following patents: U.S. Patents 5,623,679; 5,623,681; 5,696,963; 5,799,325; 5,806,079; and 5,809,318.

Aurigin and the Aurigin logo are trademarks of Aurigin Systems, Inc. SmartPatent is a registered trademark of Aurigin Systems, Inc. Other brands and products are trademarks of their respective holders.

CONTACT: Miller/Shandwick Technologies

Peter Ross or Kelley MacMaster, 650/596-5800

pross or [e-mail]