This Early License Program offer of a patent license at reduced rates is open to all companies on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. To be eligible for the Early License Program, a company must advise Wi-LAN in writing that it wishes to engage in discussions concerning a license under the Program within six months of the date of this announcement, and must conclude a license agreement with Wi-LAN within nine months of the date of this announcement.
Wi-LAN holds 53 patents and patent applications which it believes cover the IEEE 802.11a/b/g standards, the IEEE 802.16/2004/d/e standards and CDMA2000 standard amongst others.
"Since I joined Wi-LAN in June 2006, we have had an exciting few months," said Jim Skippen, Wi-LAN President and CEO. "We have raised sufficient cash to achieve our preliminary objectives; we have hired an excellent patent licensing team; we have moved the company to Ottawa; and of particular note, we have advanced discussions with a number of potential licensees. Our general strategy is to offer better terms to early licensees and to gradually increase rates to market levels. Accordingly, we have decided to broadly announce our Early License Program, so that all companies have an equal opportunity to take advantage of this time-limited offer."
About Wi-LAN Inc.
Wi-LAN, which was founded in 1992, is a licensor of key wireless technologies, and was co-founder of both the OFDM Forum and the WiMAX Forum. Some of the fundamental technologies covered by the Wi-LAN patents include CDMA, WiFi and WiMAX. Wi-LAN has already licensed its intellectual property to a number of major companies, including Cisco and Fujitsu.