E Ink Demonstrates Technology Leadership Through Patent Milestone On Paper-Like Displays.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003

E Ink is Awarded 30th U.S. Patent; Has More Than

150 Applications Pending

E Ink Corporation, the leading developer and marketer of electronic ink technology, announced that it has been awarded its 30th United States patent in the area of paper-like electronic displays and related technologies; the company has more than 150 applications pending. These patents are the basis for several "world's first" display technology innovations developed by E Ink which bring the company closer to reaching its ultimate goal of creating electronic paper.

"E Ink began in 1997 with a revolutionary concept of creating electronic paper; since then our scientists have continued to innovate, steadily building a patent portfolio that is, without question, unrivaled in this field," said Jim Iuliano, president and CEO of E Ink. "Many of our talented scientists have been awarded multiple patents and continue to do ground-breaking research in support of our mission to change the way people visually communicate."

E Ink Corporation is recognized as the technology and commercial leader in the advancement of electrophoretic information displays (EPID), also known as electronic ink displays. Paper-like electronic displays enabled by E Ink's technology are ideal for mobile environments because they are bright with high contrast, can be read in any lighting condition, including direct sunlight, and can be seen at any viewing or illumination angle - just like paper. In addition to being very easy to read, electronic ink displays are thinner, lighter and consume dramatically less power than traditional liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies and new organic light emitting displays (OLEDs).

E Ink has been awarded several U.S. patents that fundamentally cover this technology, including 6,392,785 for an encapsulated electrophoretic display having non-spherical cavities in a polymer matrix. Two recent patents with broad applicability to the display field are 6,422,687 for reflective electronic displays made from an electronic ink that contains microcapsules; and 6,504,524 for addressing bi-stable displays by updating just pixels that change between images. A recent European patent EP1118039 is for a microencapsulated electrophoretic display with a frontlight or backlight.

Anchored by its core patents in the development and fabrication of electronic ink materials, E Ink also holds an extensive base of patents related to the design, manufacture and use of display hardware and software for both traditional as well as novel display applications. Notably, this includes flexible display technologies in support of next generation, electronic paper and other handheld devices that are ultra-thin and can bend or flex.

In addition to patents in the EPID field, E Ink has also received U.S. patents covering new ways to make flexible active matrix backplanes that can be used by a broad range of display technologies, including LCDs and OLEDs. These innovations in flexible micro-electronics promise to enable ultra-thin, lightweight, highly rugged, flexible displays. Several are important patents within the emerging field of plastic transistors, including 6,498,114 for forming a pattern in an organic semiconductor film by applying a destructive agent; 6,422,687 for fabricating an electronic display by printing a dispersed semiconductive material in a binder; and 6,413,790 for pre-treating a surface to control contact angle, roughness or surface energy and then printing an addressing device for an electronic display.

"Working in a fast-paced environment like E Ink allows employees to experiment with the technology to develop `answers' across multiple disciplines to address difficult problems. We encourage this mentality by aggressively following up on IP and rewarding employees for their discoveries," said Mike McCreary, E Ink's vice president of Research and Development.

Over the past five years, E Ink, together with Philips Electronics, TOPPAN Printing Company, IBM, and Lucent Technologies, have announced several "world's first" display innovations. These achievements include: the first high-resolution monochrome paper-like EPID display with IBM; the first flexible, all plastic, active matrix display using organic semiconductors and plastic substrates with Lucent; the first high-resolution paper-like color displays with TOPPAN and Philips; and, most recently, E Ink unveiled the world's thinnest, high-resolution, active matrix display cell at just 0.3 mm thick, less than half the thickness of a credit card. Many of the patents in E Ink's portfolio underpin these extraordinary achievements and new technology platforms.

E Ink's electronic ink display technology is considered by many in the industry to be the leading solution for electronic paper applications. Many of E Ink's investors include major publishing and media companies in the U.S. and Europe, who view electronic ink displays as the platform for future eReader devices.

Electronic ink displays are currently being developed for handheld devices, wearables and signage. In addition, E Ink and other partners are continuing research and development into next-generation color as well as flexible displays for applications like smartcards and electronic paper. E Ink's electronic ink technology represents a broad display technology platform like LCDs, but enables applications that go far beyond where LCDs can go.

In addition to the substantial accumulation of pending patent applications in the United States, E Ink continues to innovate and aggressively file patent applications around the world, including Asia and Europe.

About E Ink

E Ink Corporation was founded in 1997 to create a new medium for visual communications. E Ink's electronic ink display technology helps unleash the full power of our connected world by uniquely combining a paper-like reading experience with the ability to access information anytime, anywhere. E Ink's technology delivers the look, form and utility of paper encompassing broad design freedom, manufacturing flexibility and the ultimate in readability and portability. Electronic ink displays are currently being developed for many applications spanning handheld devices, wearables and transportation signage under two main product platforms: high- resolution active matrix displays and low-to-medium pixel count segmented displays.

E Ink is a private corporation that includes among its investors and strategic partners TOPPAN Printing Company, Philips Electronics, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., VST, Motorola, Inc., Lucent Technologies, Creavis GmbH, The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc., Havas (a division of the Vivendi Group in France), Langenscheidt Verlag, The Hearst Corporation, Atlas Venture, Applied Technology and Solstice Capital. E Ink is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has an office in Tokyo, Japan. For additional information, call 617-499-6000 or visit E Ink's Web site at www.eink.com.