CALGARY, Canada May 16, 2006 Wi-LAN Inc. (TSX:WIN) (Wi-LAN or the Company) today announced that Mr. James (Jim) Skippen has accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Wi-LAN. Mr. Skippen will also be joining the Wi-LAN Board of Directors. Mr. Skippen comes to Wi-LAN from MOSAID Technologies, where he was Senior Vice President Patent Licensing and General Counsel, and was responsible for managing MOSAIDs highly successful patent licensing program. Mr. Skippen also has extensive experience practicing technology law in two major Canadian law firms.
Mr. Skippens appointment as President and CEO of Wi-LAN is effective June 20, 2006. Mr. Skippen will replace current President and CEO Bill Dunbar, who has been at the helm of Wi-LAN since February 2005, and is now retiring.
We are delighted that Jim Skippen is joining Wi-LAN. From the day we started our search, we identified Jim as the ideal candidate for the CEO position, said Dr. Hatim Zaghloul, Chairman of the Board of Wi-LAN. Wi-LAN needs a leader with an experienced track record who understands the value in our patents. Given his many dealings with large international companies and his ability to negotiate strong licensing agreements, we believe Jim is the perfect person to commercialize Wi-LANs patent portfolio.
As Senior Vice President of Patent Licensing, Mr. Skippen played an integral role in helping MOSAID distinguish itself as an intellectual property powerhouse by leading the effort to license its patent portfolio to many of the worlds best known electronics companies. Mr. Skippen also has significant experience managing large complex patent litigations.
I am very excited to be joining Wi-LAN, said Mr. Skippen. For a long time I have been aware of the tremendous potential and importance of the Wi-LAN patent portfolio. Wi-LAN holds essential patents in four key technology areas: WiFi, CDMA2000, WCDMA and WiMAX, and we believe many companies are using that technology without properly compensating Wi-LAN. I plan to lead an aggressive hands-on campaign to ensure that Wi-LAN shareholders receive fair value for the use of their technology.
Mr. Skippen will be opening a Wi-LAN head office in Ottawa, Ontario, to build on his existing contacts in the region. Wi-LAN plans to retain its Calgary office, for technical support, accounting and administrative functions. Mr. Skippens first order of business will be to set the strategy for Wi-LAN in general and particularly for Wi-LANs recently announced lawsuit against major wireless product manufacturer D-Link Canada Inc., whose use of IEEE802.11a/g standards is believed to be infringing on Wi-LANs WOFDM patent.
Mr. Skippen is currently a board member of Icron Technologies Inc. He is currently a member of the Executive for the Ottawa Technology Law Group and a member of the Licensing Executives Society. He is a former Chairman of the Toronto Computer Lawyers Group and a former Vice-Chairman of the Canadian Diabetes Association. Mr. Skippen is a frequent speaker at conferences and has delivered numerous papers and articles concerning patent licensing and technology law.
About Wi-LAN Inc. Wi-LAN holds a varied portfolio of essential patents in large, existing and emerging industries: CDMA2000, WiFi and WiMAX. Wi-LAN has licensed its patents to a few companies. Wi-LAN is a charter member of the WiMAX Forum (
www.wimaxforum.org).
