Addressing e.Digital’s recently announced efforts to monetize its flash memory-related patent portfolio, Blakeley commented, “According to research from CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, global demand for flash memory is expected to reach $25 billion this year, due mainly to the rapid proliferation of handheld devices. We believe the timing and climate are right for us to pursue monetizing our flash memory-related patent portfolio which we believe contains fundamental and valuable claims regarding the use of embedded and removable flash memory in portable devices.”

e.Digital holds five flash memory-related patents (#5,491,774, #5,742,737, #5,787,445, #5,839,108, #5,842,170--The assignee name on four of the patents is Norris Communications, now known as e.Digital Corporation--The assignee name on the fifth patent is Comp General Corporation, a then-wholly owned subsidiary of Norris Communications).

“We have initiated the process of having the patents and claims independently evaluated,” concluded Blakeley. “When the evaluation process is completed, and with the assistance of an intellectual property management company, our strategy is to aggressively pursue licensing agreements with companies we believe have products utilizing e.Digital’s intellectual property.”