LAS VEGAS, January 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Sisvel International announced today that it has acquired 47 patent families comprised of more than 450 patents and applications originally filed by Nokia.

The patents and patent applications cover technologies used in a wide range of mobile communications devices and services. Thirty-three of the patent families, consisting of more than 350 patents and applications, have been declared essential by Nokia to second, third and fourth-generation communications standards, including GSM (Global Systems for Mobile communications), UMTS/WCDMA (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service / Wide-Band Code Division Multiple Access) and LTE (Long Term Evolution). The balance of the portfolio consists of implementation patents including video encoding optimization technologies. The acquired patents remain subject to certain prior agreements and Nokia is licensed under the portfolio as part of the acquisition.

"Sisvel has been extremely active in recent years working with the wireless industry to provide simplified access to essential wireless patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory, or FRAND, conditions," said Giustino de Sanctis, CEO of Sisvel International. Mr. de Sanctis also explained that "Acquiring the many essential patents in this key portfolio is a very significant step for Sisvel and a testament to Sisvel's commitment and determination to succeed in this space. We look forward to offering these essential patents on FRAND terms and to continuing our work within the wireless industry."

About the Sisvel Group

Started in 1982 when Sisvel S.p.A. was founded in Italy, the Sisvel Group has become a world leader in managing intellectual property and maximizing the value of patent rights. The Sisvel Group is global in scope and reach, with companies in Italy (Sisvel in None Torinese and Edico in Rome), the United States (Sisvel US and Audio MPEG in Metropolitan Washington, DC), China (Sisvel Hong Kong), Japan (Sisvel Japan in Tokyo), Germany (Sisvel Germany in Stuttgart), and Luxembourg (Sisvel International), and with over one hundred  professionals worldwide with technical, legal, and licensing expertise.

Sisvel has a long history of managing successful patent portfolios including those related to the audio compression standards known as MP3 and MPEG Audio, and widespread technologies such as OSD (On Screen Display), ATSS (Automatic Tuning & Sorting System), and WSS (Wide Screen Signaling - for automatic switching of television image formats). Sisvel currently operates patent pools for the UHF-RFID, CDMA 2000, DVB-T, and DVB-T2 standards, and is in the process of creating patent pools for LTE, DVB-C2 and Wi-Fi.

SOURCE Sisvel Group