Avistar Announces Cross-Licensing Agreement with Polycom, Inc.; Avistar Agrees to Settle Patent Litigation Against Polycom.REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. -- Avistar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :AVSR (Audio Visual Speech Recognition) Using lip reading software to enhance speech recognition. In noisy environments where a camera can be included, AVSR improves the computer's ability to recognize the speaker's words by visually tracking lip movement and ), a provider of business video collaboration solutions, and Collaboration Properties, Inc Collaboration Properties, Inc. (CPI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Avistar Communications Corporation. It holds US and foreign patents in the primary areas of presence-based interactions, desktop video, recorded and live media at the desktop, multimedia documents, data sharing, . (CPI (1) (Characters Per Inch) The measurement of the density of characters per inch on tape or paper. A printer's CPI button switches character pitch. (2) (Counts Per I ), its wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. , today announced that they have reached an agreement with Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCM PLCM Product Life-Cycle Management PLCM public long code mask PLCM Public Land Code Mask ), wherein the companies have cross-licensed each others' patent portfolios. Additionally, Avistar has agreed to dismiss its pending lawsuit against Polycom regarding infringement of four Collaboration Properties patents. In addition, both companies intend to pursue other business relationships. Under the terms of the patent cross-licensing and settlement agreement, Polycom has agreed to make a one-time payment of $27.5 million to Avistar in exchange for a fully-paid up license to Avistar's patent portfolio and settlement of CPI's claims. Net of Avistar's contingent legal fees related to the litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , the payment amounts to approximately $21 million. "We are extremely pleased with this initial licensing of our patent portfolio," said Gerald Burnett, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Avistar. "We believe the technology covered by our portfolio is important to accelerating the adoption of desktop video, and that it is a natural fit with Polycom's market leading products. We look forward to working with them on ways to use each others' capabilities to broaden this market. We strongly believe this settlement is in the best interests of all parties, and we are pleased to be able to concentrate our future efforts and resources on expanding the market for rich-media collaboration." Under the cross-licensing and settlement agreement, CPI is dismissing with prejudice its infringement suit against Polycom. The original litigation was initiated in September, 2002, in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California and involved the following CPI patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 5,867,654; 5,896,500; 6,212,547; and 6,343,314. In addition, the cross-licensing and settlement agreement includes patent licenses spanning each company's extensive patent portfolios. About Avistar Communications Corporation Avistar develops, markets, and supports video collaboration solutions for the enterprise, all powered by the AvistarVOS(TM) software. From the desktop, Avistar delivers TV-quality video calling, recording, publishing to web and emails, video-on-demand, broadcast origination and distribution, and document sharing See data conferencing. . Avistar delivers on vBusiness -- video-enabling business -- by integrating visual communications into the daily workflow and connecting communities of users within and across enterprises. By offering both IP and circuit-switched products, which are fully interoperable, Avistar provides customers with a unique choice of how they implement high-quality video. Founded in 1993, Avistar Communications Corporation is headquartered in Redwood Shores, California Redwood Shores is an upscale and desirable [1] waterfront neighborhood on the San Francisco Peninsula in California. It is located on the eastern edge of Belmont, but is actually part of incorporated Redwood City. , with sales offices in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and London. Avistar's technology is used in more than 35 countries. Collaboration Properties, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Avistar Communications Corporation, holds a current portfolio of 65 patents for inventions in primary areas of video technology, including Avistar's video operating system and networked video collaboration products in both digital and analog networks. Inquiries regarding CPI's licensing may be directed to Paul Carmichael, primary licensing advisor, by arrangement with Amanda Redd at 650-610-2900. For more information, visit www.avistar.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to statements concerning possible future business arrangements among Avistar, CPI and Polycom, future use of licensed technology among the companies and the impact of any relationship between the companies on the market for rich-media collaboration products. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. Copyright (c) 2004 Avistar Communications Corporation. All rights reserved. Avistar, AvistarVOS, and the Avistar logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avistar Communications Corporation. |
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