Philips reaches milestone of 100,000 patents

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

 

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS - Royal Philips Electronics (AEX:PHI; NYSE:PHG) has recently reached the impressive milestone of 100,000 patents, confirming its excellence as a highly innovative company. Philips generates significant revenues through its pro-active intellectual property strategy. The income from intellectual property is essential for the discovery of innovative technology and the development of new products, as it is used almost entirely to help fund Philips' Research & Development.

Some examples of important patented Philips-inventions are CD, DVD, JPEG, MPEG (digital video), Xenon car lights, UHP lights for projectors and GSM speech codification. Over the last five years, Philips has tripled the annual number of inventions for which it seeks patents from 1,000 to 3,000. For the last two years, Philips has been the number one company in patent applications with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

 

According to Gerard Kleisterlee, CEO of Philips, ‘reaching the milestone of 100,000 patents is a fantastic achievement. It is a logical consequence of our strategy to activate the value of our technological knowledge. Our intellectual property portfolio determines our value as a company in what we call the ‘Intellectual Economy’, the market where technology is traded. We use our patents more and more as a tool for sharing our technology with other companies, for example, by licensing our patents. As a result, we continue to provide the world with useful and convenient innovations that enhance the quality of life.'


Annually, Philips selects about 3,000 inventions, out of more than 8,000 proposed ideas, for patent applications. Most of these inventions will normally translate into more than one patent each, as applications are filed in various jurisdictions. Some 20,000 inventions underlie the 100,000 patents. In addition to its patents, Philips is also the owner of 22,000 brands, 11,000 model rights and 2,000 domain names. To manage this impressive IPR-portfolio, Philips employs approximately 300 specialists in IPR in 23 offices worldwide. Philips is one of the leading companies in the world in terms of income derived from intellectual property.


In the past, patent applications were mainly filed to safeguard Philips’ exclusive use of its innovations. Nowadays, value creation is the central strategy. Value can be created by Philips’ own use of a patent, but also through the sale, licensing, exchange or pooling of patents. This strategy of value creation is not only beneficial to Philips. It also fosters innovation in the wider economy, as new technologies are made available to other companies.


Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Shahid Zaki, CEO Philips Pakistan, reiterated Philips’ commitment to the Pakistani consumer. He said that in Pakistan Philips Electronics has had a continuous presence since the inception of the country itself. Philips is committed to bringing all key Philips Innovations to the Pakistani consumer as soon as they are launched globally. Inventions like the Pixel Plus Technology Televisions for incredible home viewing, Digital Natural Motion Pro Technology for the smoothest moving images, LightFrame Technology for Brighter Sharper Images on your Monitor, etc. being amongst the recent ones. In the past, Philips Pakistan has been the pioneer in bringing in the first radios, TVs, and professional lighting products for the Pakistani consumer.


The monumental achievement of 100,000 patents, Philips reaffirms its commitment to all its consumers worldwide and vows to continue to strive to “make things better” and delight its customers now and in the future.

Any questions? Please contact

Fariha Shah


Integrated Marketing Communications Officer
Marketing Consumer Electronics
F-54, S.I.T.E.
Karachi - 75730
Tel:  +92 (21) 2564028   
Fax:  +92 (21) 2563826
Email:  fariha.shah@philips.com


About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, delivering people-centric, innovative products, services and solutions through the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 134,200 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 27 billion in 2007, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, as well as lifestyle solutions for personal wellbeing. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.