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Strategies & Market Trends : The Thread Formerly Known as No Rest For The Wicked -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BarbaraT who wrote (44606)	5/24/1999 9:19:00 AM
From: JeffA	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90042

COMS News Monday May 24, 9:04 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Inventor Dr. Brent Townshend Reacquires Ownership of High-Speed Modem Patents From 3Com Corporation MENLO PARK and SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 1999--3Com Corporation (Nasdaq:COMS - news) and Dr. Brent Townshend today announced that Dr. Townshend has reacquired from 3Com control of the patents covering his inventions that made 56K modems feasible. Dr. Townshend's patents are basic to the pulse code modulation technology embodied in V.90 compatible and proprietary 56K modems. Previously, 3Com held an exclusive license and option to acquire ownership of Dr. Townshend's patents. Under the new arrangement, Dr. Townshend reacquired exclusive control over the licensing and enforcement of the patents as well as other ownership rights, while 3Com retained a non-exclusive license to practice the Townshend inventions. ''Dr. Townshend's pioneering work is basic to the technology that made the V.90 standard and 56Kbps modems possible. His inventions dramatically altered the landscape of modem communications and analog modem connection speeds,'' said Robert C. Suffern, Vice President of Research & Development in the Personal Communications Division at 3Com. As a condition of the transaction, Dr. Townshend affirmed his earlier commitment to negotiate licenses under patents covering the V.90 standard on a non-discriminatory basis under reasonable terms and conditions. Specific license terms for the Townshend patents are available upon request. 3Com also owns exclusive rights to other inventions that it believes are essential for compliance with the V.90 modem standard. Patents covering these technologies have either issued or are expected to issue shortly. As a participant in the ITU work leading to the adoption of the V.90 standard, 3Com confirmed its willingness to negotiate on a non-discriminatory basis and to grant licenses under these patents on reasonable terms and conditions. About Dr. Brent Townshend Dr. Townshend is an independent inventor in Menlo Park, California. He is also a Consulting Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University and is a founder of Ordinate Corporation. About 3Com Corporation With more than 200 million customers worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people to information in more ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers innovative information access products and network system solutions to large, medium and small enterprises; carriers and network service providers; PC OEMs; and consumers. 3Com -- More connected.(TM) For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at www.3Com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox. Note to Editors: 3Com is a registered trademark and More connected. is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.