5 Jan 2011 07:00
Amphion Innovations plc
IP License Agreements
London and New York, 5 January 2011- Amphion Innovations plc (LSE: AMP) ("Amphion" or the "Company"), the developer of medical and technology businesses, today announces that since September 2010 its wholly owned subsidiary, DataTern, Inc., has settled five patent infringement lawsuits involving its U.S. Patents 6,101,502 and 5,937,402, generating total revenues of $1.125 million.
In 2010, DataTern signed a total of 10 licenses, generating total revenues of $2.750 million, of which $2.025 million was generated in the second half of the year.
As we reported as part of our Interim results in September 2010, the flow and timing of license settlements was negatively impacted by the restructuring of the IP programme undertaken during the first half of the year. However, activity has since picked up and in October 2010 DataTern filed suit against an additional 14 companies, bringing the total number of claims outstanding to 19 following the settlements announced today.
Together, the net proceeds of our licensing programme that we plan to receive over the next year and the new debt facility, announced 9 December 2010 should be sufficient to cover Amphion's working capital requirements.
Amphion CEO, Richard Morgan, said, "We are confident in the quality of the patents owned by DataTern and believe that a very large number of corporations are using this technology and infringing our patents. Our primary goal remains to license this technology on terms that are fair to the users and in the process to obtain an adequate return on the investment made in the technology. We expect to see additional settlements over the next few months, and beyond.
"Following the restructuring of DataTern, Amphion is able to retain a larger share of each settlement and now that the programme is getting back on track we believe that in the year ahead cash flow from licensing agreements should once again cover the direct operating costs of Amphion, including interest on the Convertible Promissory Note.
"Since inception, DataTern has signed 29 licenses with companies from the financial, credit card, retail, leisure, healthcare, airline, e-commerce, and software industries for a total of about $16 million."
For further information please contact:
Amphion Innovations plc
Charlie Morgan +44 779 953 6043
Cardew Group
Tim Robertson/ Jamie Milton +44 20 7930 0777
Charles Stanley (Nominated Adviser)
Mark Taylor +44 20 7149 6000
About Amphion Innovations plc
Amphion (LSE: AMP) builds shareholder value in high growth companies in the medical and technology sectors, by using a focused, hands-on company building approach, based on decades of experience in both the US and UK. Amphion has significant shareholding in 8 Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces, each in excess of $1 billion. Each Partner Company is chosen with the goal of achieving an exit valuation in excess of $100 million. The Amphion model has been refined to optimise the commercialisation of patents and other intellectual property within the Partner Companies. The Partner Companies collectively own or control over 200 separately identified pieces of intellectual property, a number that grows rapidly each year.
On the web: www.amphionplc.com