Nova Measuring Instruments has said that it has licensed several of its patents for more than US$1 million to a top-ten semiconductor manufacturer. The license covers the use of integrated metrology and integrated process control before and during the photolithography manufacturing step.

“A year ago we initialized this unique process with a view to monetizing hidden intellectual property assets of our company. The deal signed, as well as the overall interest in the patents, is clear evidence of the strength of the IP and its importance to semiconductor manufacturing. We believe the use of integrated metrology and integrated process control in the patterning area of the fab will continue to grow as device manufacturers continuously confront the need to shrink and deal with advanced materials.
We intend to continue discussions with additional companies interested in licensing or purchasing these patents.”

In September 2006 Nova invited approximately 100 companies from both OEMs and chip manufacturers to submit bids to acquire or license certain patents from its very large portfolio of over 60 patents. This is the first signing and payment Nova has received since initiating the bid process.

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Posted: 08|8|07 at 12:07 pm. Filed under: Auction News.