Insights
IV and Olympus Reach License Agreement, Settlement
November 8, 2012
- Buzz
- IV and Olympus Reach License Agreement, ...
Today we announced that Intellectual Ventures has reached a settlement and license agreement with Olympus Corporation, the product of many months of negotiation between Olympus and our licensing and litigation teams. Olympus has agreed to license segments of IV’s extensive patent portfolio, which includes nearly 40,000 IP assets in more than 50 technology areas, and will also join IV's IP-for-Defense program.
“With this license, Olympus is the first major digital imaging company to become a customer of Intellectual Ventures, and we look forward to a long and productive relationship with Olympus,” said Andy Elder, executive vice president of global licensing for Intellectual Ventures. “As the technology world is aware, licensing patents is one way for sophisticated companies to maintain a competitive advantage and reduce risk. Our customers recognize the value of invention and that a license enables continued innovation and the ability to bring new products to market.”
As a result, Olympus will be dismissed from the patent infringement action IV filed in September 2011. IV continues to pursue litigation against Olympus’ co-defendant in that suit, Canon, as well as a separate matter filed in October 2011 against Nikon, another digital imaging company.
This announcement comes on the heels of settlements with memory device manufacturers Sk hynix, Inc. and Elpida Memory, Inc., further validating the strength and breadth of IV’s patent portfolio across multiple technology sectors. IV will continue to invest in both established and emerging markets and the inventions that drive them, and will protect those investments when necessary.
You can read more information about the terms of this announcement in this morning’s press release.
