Trident Microsystems Announces Sale of Five Patents

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Trident Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRID), a leading provider of set-top box and TV semiconductor solutions, said today that it has divested five patents to Innovus Prime LLC, a company represented by the California law firm of Aka Chan LLP.  The divestiture of these five patents is another milestone in Trident's previously announced strategy to leverage its deep and broad patent portfolio to generate revenue and to provide Trident with a substantial competitive advantage.

As a result of Trident's acquisitions, including TV and audio product lines from Micronas, and the set-top box and TV product lines from NXP B.V., Trident owns and controls a comprehensive portfolio of patents that are foundational to the digital audio and video consumer electronics industries.  The portfolio includes Motion Estimation/Motion Compensation (MEMC) technology originally pioneered and patented by Philips. MEMC has become a de facto standard approach to picture quality for LCD and plasma displays in televisions as well as computer monitor, tablet computer and mobile phone displays. Other intellectual property includes demodulator, audio, video, television interface, 3D, conditional access, low power, and general semiconductor circuit technology.

"Trident's patent portfolio is a substantial asset that helps us to protect our position as a leading solutions supplier to the digital home entertainment industry," said Philippe Geyres, CEO of Trident Microsystems. "In addition, through licenses and strategic agreements, we can capitalize on the strength and breadth of our portfolio to generate recurring revenue streams."

In August 2010, Trident announced plans to pursue license agreements with major players in consumer electronics for several of its MEMC patents.  Since then, Trident has been actively engaged in licensing discussions and, in January 2011, announced it had licensed part of its MEMC patent portfolio to MStar Semiconductors.

Financial terms of the Innovus Prime agreement were not disclosed.

About Trident Microsystems, Inc.

Trident Microsystems, Inc., with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, is a leading force in the digital home entertainment market, delivering an extensive range of platform solutions that enhance the consumer experience in the Connected Home.  As one of the top-three semiconductor providers to both the TV and set-top box markets, Trident's solutions can be found in the products of leading OEMs and channel partners worldwide.  For further information about Trident and its products, please consult the Company's web site: www.tridentmicro.com.

About Aka Chan LLP

Aka Chan is an elite intellectual property law firm based in Silicon Valley. The firm represents numerous clients on patents and other intellectual property-related matters in high tech and consumer products. The firm assists clients in securing, licensing, enforcing, and monetizing their intellectual property rights. For more information about Aka Chan, please visit http://www.akachanlaw.com.

About Innovus Prime LLC

Innovus Prime LLC is engaged in the business of acquiring patent rights for licensing and enforcement. The company has a newly formed licensing program specifically for digital video enhancement technologies.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about Trident's competitive advantages, and its plans to pursue license and strategic agreements and generate revenue from its patent portfolio. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause Trident's actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. These risks include, without limitation, that Trident may not succeed in pursuing patent license or strategic agreements, and that it may not achieve competitive advantage or other material financial benefits by leveraging its patent portfolio. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release; Trident does not undertake any obligation to publicly revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the statement was made. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause results to differ can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recently filed Reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-K and Form 10-Q., which are available at http://www.sec.gov.

NOTE: Trident and the Trident logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Trident Microsystems in the United States and /or other countries.  All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

SOURCE Trident Microsystems, Inc.