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Unwired Planet Strengthens Mobile Intellectual Property Portfolio with the Contribution of Complementary IP from the Industry Leader in Mobile Communications
RENO, Nev. --(Business Wire)--
Unwired Planet, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPIP) ("Unwired Planet" or the "Company"),
the inventor of the mobile Internet, today announced that it has entered
into a patent purchase agreement with Ericsson (News - Alert) (NASDAQ:ERIC) whereby
Ericsson will transfer to Unwired Planet 2,185 issued US and
international patents and patent applications.
The transferred patents significantly broaden Unwired Planet's Mobile
Internet-focused portfolio and include 753 United States issued patents
related to 2G, 3G and LTE (News - Alert) technologies. Under the terms of the
transaction, Ericsson will also contribute 100 additional patent assets
annually to Unwired Planet commencing in 2014 through 2018. Unwired
Planet will compensate Ericsson with certain ongoing rights in future
revenues generated from the enlarged patent portfolio. Unwired Planet
will also grant Ericsson a license to the Company's enlarged patent
portfolio.
The combined portfolio reflects decades of significant investment in
research and development and the companies' respective roles as pioneers
in the development of technology critical to Telecommunications
Infrastructure and the Mobile Internet. The contributed Ericsson
portfolio includes patented inventions relating to global
telecommunication technologies, such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA and LTE,
as well as many other patented inventions that are widely implemented in
many popular wireless devices and mobile industries.
Following the transaction, Unwired Planet will execute a strategy as a
long-term industry platform for the realization of intellectual property
value across the global telecoms and mobile handset markets.
"Ericsson and Unwired Planet teamed in the late 1990's at the dawn of
the mobile Internet to define an industry and develop technology at the
cutting edge of mobile communications. Our mobile heritage reflects
decades of pioneering new technology, supported by billions of dollars
in research and development. Our inventions have delivered massive
social value and this transaction with Ericsson reflects our commitment
to protecting and realizing value from this innovation," said Mike
Mulica, Chief Executive Officer of Unwired Planet. "We look forward to
leveraging a strong, multi-imensional patent portfolio and furthering
discussions with key industry players who are interested in licensing
these inventions to protect and further build their product strategies."
"In 1997, Ericsson and Unwired Planet introduced the Wireless
Application Protocol that brought Internet access to mobile devices,"
said Kasim Alfalahi, Chief Intellectual Property Officer, Ericsson.
"Following this transaction, Unwired Planet's portfolio will reflect
decades of invention at the forefront of mobile infrastructure, handset
technologies and over-the-top services. We are pleased to have concluded
this business deal with Unwired Planet as an alternative channel for IP
licensing."
Further details of the transaction are included in a Form 8-K to be
filed by Unwired Planet with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Conference Call Information
Unwired Planet has scheduled a conference call for 5:00 p.m. EST today
to discuss the patent purchase agreement. Interested parties may access
the conference call over the Internet through Unwired Planet's website
at www.unwiredplanet.com
or by telephone at (877) 941-2068 or (480)-629-9712 (international). A
replay of the conference call will be available for three weeks (until
January 31), beginning at 6:00 pm EST on January 10 by calling (800)
406-7325. The replay can be accessed internationally by calling (303)
590-3030, access code: 4590216.
About Unwired Planet
Unwired Planet, Inc. (NASDAQ: UPIP) is the inventor of the mobile
Internet and established many of the foundational patented technologies
that allow mobile devices to connect to the Internet. The company's 202
issued US and foreign patents and 75 pending applications are considered
foundational to mobile communications, and span smart devices, cloud
technologies and unified messaging. Unwired Planet's portfolio includes
patents related to key mobile application technologies, including mobile
browsers, mobile advertising, push technology, maps and location based
services, mobile application stores, social networking, mobile gaming
and mobile search. Unwired Planet is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact
contained in this release are forward-looking statements. In some cases,
you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as
"may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of
these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only
current predictions and are subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be
materially different from those anticipated by the forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of
risks, including, but not limited to the ability of the parties to the
patent purchase agreement to consummate the proposed transaction in
light of the various closing conditions set forth in the transaction
documents (including those conditions related to HSR approval), the
expiration of encumbrances on the patent portfolio, the potential value
and synergies created by the transaction, including the future market
for smartphones and 3G/4G mobile phone shipments and the ability of the
Company to realize and monetize the value of the Company's intellectual
property as well as those risk factors discussed in filings with the
SEC (News - Alert), including but not limited to the Company's Annual Report on Form
10-K filed on September 7, 2012, and any subsequently filed reports on
Forms 10-Q and 8-K or amendments thereto. The Company undertakes no duty
to update or revise any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of
this release.

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