Patriot Scientific Corporation
Public (OTCQB: PTSC) | |
Industry | Patent monetization |
Founded | 1992 |
Founder | Woody Norris |
Headquarters | Carlsbad, California, United States |
Key people |
Cliff Flowers (Interim CEO)[1] |
Website | www.ptsc.com |
Patriot Scientific Corporation refers to itself an "Intellectual Property (IP) licensing company." Founded in 1992, it is a Delaware corporation based in Carlsbad, California and is one of the publicly traded companies started by inventor Elwood "Woody" Norris. Its stock currently trades over-the-counter on the OTCBB under the ticker symbol "PTSC."
Patriot was never successful in selling any of the technology or products it developed itself, but realized in 2004 that the acquisition of Nanotronics Corporation from Helmut Falk (Sr.) made years earlier may have given it patent rights to fundamental microprocessor technology. Its income in the last few years has come from licensing fees and settlements of patent infringement claims. It became notable in the world of penny stocks by issuing two shareholder dividends to distribute licensing/settlement income.
History
Patriot Scientific Corporation was founded in 1992 by Woody Norris as the successor to Patriot Financial Corporation, a Colorado corporation, incorporated on June 10, 1987. In 1994, Patriot purchased the assets of nanoTronics, which included the basic architecture of Patriot's microprocessors as well as the patents that are today known as the MMP portfolio. The company further strengthened its intellectual property assets by acquiring networking and communication device manufacturer Metacomp, Inc. in 1997. Patriot entered into a joint venture agreement with Technology Properties Limited, Inc. (“TPL”) in 2005 to focus on monetizing the assets in the MMP portfolio. Around the same time, the company ceased its own research and development operations. The company moved its headquarters from San Diego, CA to Carlsbad, CA in 2006.
Microprocessor Products
The IGNITE was Patriot's attempt to bring its own microprocessor design to market. Initially marketed as ShBoom Box and later as PSC 1000, the processor was finally renamed IGNITE in the early 2000s. Notably, the IGNITE architecture was not a register machine, but used a stack computation model, which is the foundation of programming languages like Java and Forth. Originally it was designed as a fast execution platform for Forth, but with the advent of Java in the mid-1990s Patriot shifted its focus to efficiently running Java bytecode.
MMP licensees
Patriot's licensing success is a result of a joint-venture formed in June, 2005, with the TPL Group. Alliacense, a TPL entity, manages the commercialization of this jointly owned "Moore Microprocessor patent portfolio (MMP)."
Licensees include:
- Advanced Medical Optics[2]
- Agilent[3]
- Alpine Electronics[4]
- AMD[5]
- Casio[6]
- Daewoo[7]
- Direct TV[8]
- DMP Electronics[9]
- Fujitsu[10]
- Funai Electric [11]
- Gerber Scientific[12]
- Hewlett Packard[13]
- Humax Corporation Ltd.[14]
- Intel[15]
- Kenwood[16]
- Lego Group[17]
- Lexmark[18]
- Lite On [19]
- Mattel[20]
- NEC Corporation[21]
- Nikon[22]
- Olympus[23]
- Pentax[24]
- Philips[25]
- Psion[26]
- SanDisk[27]
- Schneider Electric[28]
- Seiko Epson[29]
- Sharp[30]
- Sony[31]
- Teac[32]
- Verigy[33]
- WMS Gaming[34]
External links
- Official web site
- Alliacense web site
- Company and financial information on Yahoo Finance
- "Patents owned by Patriot Scientific Corporation". US Patent & Trademark Office.
References
- ↑ PATRIOT SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION ANNOUNCES MAJOR REORGANIZATION, 10/09/2009
- ↑ Advanced Medical Optics Licenses Key Microprocessor Technology, 2/26/08
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Confirms Addition of Agilent Technologies to Steadily Expanding Roster of MMP Patent Portfolio Licensees
- ↑ Alpine Electronics Purchases Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License, 12/10/2007
- ↑ AMD purchases piece of Patriot Scientific Corp. San Diego Business Journal, 28-FEB-05
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Announces Important Patent Licensing Agreement with Casio
- ↑ Daewoo Electronics Purchases Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ DIRECTV Joins Ranks of MMP Patent Portfolio Licensees, 2/8/2008
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Licenses Microprocessor Patents to DMP Electronics Inc.
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Receives Share of Proceeds from MMP Patent Portfolio Licensing Agreement with Fujitsu
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Momentum Continues as Funai Purchases Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Gerber Scientific Purchases Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Announces Major Patent Licensing Agreement with Hewlett-Packard
- ↑ The Daily Transcript, Friday, January 4, 2008
- ↑ Company 8-K, 8/5/2005
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Growth Strategy Advances as Kenwood Joins Steadily Expanding Roster of MMP Patent Portfolio Licensees
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Announces Licensing Agreement with the LEGO Group - August 29, 2007
- ↑ Patriot Scientific's Planned Momentum Increases as Lexmark Purchases MMP Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Lite On Purchases Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License From Patriot Scientific Corp
- ↑ Mattel Becomes 40th Licensee, Setting a Major Milestone in Moore Microprocessor Patent Licensing Program, 2/25/08
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Announces Purchase by NEC of First 2007 Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Corporation Confirms Licensing Agreement With Nikon
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Corporation Gaining Momentum As Olympus Corporation (OCPNF) Signs Eighth Licensing Deal In Eight Months - 9/5/2006
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Confirms PENTAX Joins Growing Roster of Global Manufacturers Licensed to Use the Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Welcomes Philips to List of Microprocessor Patent Licensees
- ↑ Psion Purchases Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Momentum Continues as SanDisk Purchases Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Highlights Successful Calendar Year as Schneider Electric Joins Stellar Roster of Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio Licensees December 18, 2006
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Corporation Confirms Seiko Epson Agreement to Purchase MMP License June 27, 2006
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Confirms Continuing Momentum as Sharp Purchases Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Patriot Scientific Corporation Announces Licensing Agreement With Sony Corporation
- ↑ TEAC Corporation Purchases Moore Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ Verigy Purchases Microprocessor Patent Portfolio License
- ↑ WMS Gaming Joins List of Patriot’s Microprocessor Licensees