SISVEL S.p.A.: "Unlocking the value of IPR Patent Pool: A Winning Business Model"

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nikkei Business Daily Forum 2008 “Unlocking the value of IPR Patent Pool: A Winning Business Model” organized by Nikkei Inc., was held in Nikkei Hall, Tokyo. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Japan External Trade Organization, SISVEL S.p.A. played a major role in sponsorship for the forum together with Metroconsult S.r.L. and Allen& Overy LLP. A total audience of 320 professionals from major companies of electric and communication industries, governmental offices and universities found the forum informative and a huge success.

Experts were invited from Japan, the United States and Europe to encourage Japanese companies to exploit their patents through patent pools. Specifically, attendees were honored with the presentations of Mr. Hill B. Wellford, Chief of Staff, Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, United States. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Mr. Carter Eltzroth, Legal Director of DVB Project.

At the forum, Mr. Roberto Dini, Founder of SISVEL S.p.A. gave a presentation entitled ”Patent Pools: The Future of Licensing?” In his presentation, he discussed the effectiveness of the patent pool as a business model in global competition and appealed that SISVEL is ready to offer know-how to far east companies to exploit their IPRs as a licensing administrator/ facilitator.

Before Mr. Dini, Prof. Manabu Eto from Hitotsubashi Univ. provided the keynote speech entitled: “Standards and Patent Pools.” Offering the European perspective, Mr. Carter Eltzroth, Legal Director of DVB Project presented “IPR Holders, Standardization Processes and Patent Pools.” Additionally, Dr. Marcus Grosch and Mr. Philip Mansfield from Allen & Overy LLP offered a further European perspective in their co-presentation “Standard setting and Patent Pools; the Interface of Patent Law and Antitrust Law.”

Two presentations provided the American perspective. Mr. Wellford, of U.S. DOJ presented "An Antitrust Enforcer's View of the Value of Patent Pools and Standard Setting." Additionally,, Mr. Mark W. Nelson of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton LLP discussed “Analysis of Patent Pools under U.S. Antitrust Law.”

After the forum, SISVEL S.p.A. and A&O hosted a reception in the Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) building, in which speakers and key persons from major companies, celebrated the success of the forum.

About Sisvel

Established in 1982, SISVEL has become one of the world's leaders in managing intellectual property and maximizing the value of patent rights. The Sisvel Group is global in scope and reach, with companies in Italy (Sisvel in None Torinese and Edico in Rome), the United States (Audio MPEG in Metropolitan Washington, DC), China (Sisvel Hong Kong), Japan (Sisvel Japan in Tokyo), and Germany (Sisvel Germany in Stuttgart), and with more than seventy professionals worldwide with technical, legal, and licensing expertise. SISVEL has a long history of managing successful patent portfolios including those related to the audio compression standards known as MP3 and MPEG Audio, and widespread technologies such as OSD (On Screen Display), ATSS (Automatic Tuning & Sorting System), and WSS (Wide Screen Signaling - for automatic switching of television image formats). Most recently SISVEL has been appointed as the administrator of the DVB-T patent pool related to the widely adopted terrestrial digital television broadcast standard. Additional information regarding Sisvel is available on the Internet at: www.sisvel.com.

SAITO Akane
SISVEL JAPAN K.K.
Tokyo, 100-0011 Japan
Tel +81-(0)3-5251-9500
Website
www.sisvel.com