IT-Review

Competitive Technologies Second Patent Deemed Essential for MPEG-4 Technology License Pool

Competitive Technologies, Inc. announced that a second of its patents has been deemed essential for companies that use the MPEG-4 Visual Standard, and has been incorporated into the MPEG-4 Visual Patent Portfolio License Pool effective January 1, 2005. Applications of the patented technology include image/video on the Internet, wireless video, and networked video games. The technology allows the coding of images and video with high efficiency and relatively low complexity.

The MPEG licensing administrator (MPEG LA) provides a license to those requiring the essential patent rights to MPEG-4 technology. Using MPEG LA is the easiest, most cost-effective way to obtain the rights to use the complex and highly developed technology. The MPEG-4 Patent Portfolio Licenses currently include patents owned by more than twenty companies in addition to CTT. The intent of the patent pool is to provide users worldwide access to all MPEG-4 essential intellectual property through one organization that grants licenses and collects royalties. Over 160 organizations currently license the MPEG-4 technology including Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, Apple, Canon, Cisco, General Instrument, Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, NTT and Sharp.

Dr. D. J. Freed, CTT's Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer said, "The commercialization of this Lehigh-developed technology with the MPEG-4 consortium is another example of how CTT successfully works with academia, and demonstrates the experience and expertise we bring to our clients. CTT is actively marketing and commercializing several technologies including homocysteine assays, sexual dysfunction treatment, video compression and decoding technology, sunless tanning application, silicon carbide wafer testing, public key encryption technology, nanotechnology bone biomaterial, specialty chemical compounds, and the Therapik(R) medical device."

Double-Digit Growth Outlook for Fiscal 2005
"Our recent agreements for homocysteine royalties and license fees will be the initial drivers for our expected double-digit growth in revenue and net income for fiscal 2005 ending July 31, 2005," said John B. Nano, CTT's President and CEO. "We expect recurring revenues from our MPEG-4 technology for many years to come. We are in a licensing market that demands technologies like our MPEG-4 visual technologies, our homocysteine assay and other technologies in our portfolio."

"I believe CTT's stock is trading at a very low p/e considering our trailing four quarters of earnings of $0.55 per share and our valuable portfolio of innovative technologies," said Mr. Nano. "We have assembled an outstanding management team that is delivering on our strategy for growth and increasing shareholder value."

Source: press release

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