EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Corey
M. Horowitz, Chairman and CEO
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Network-1
Security Solutions, Inc.
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(212)
829-5770
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Network-1
Receives Markman Order In Patent Litigation Against
Major
Data Networking Equipment Manufacturers
New York, New York – February 22,
2010 -- Network-1 Security Solutions, Inc. (OTC BB:NSSI) today announced
that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Texas, Tyler Division, issued its claim construction Order and Opinion or
“Markman Order” in Network-1’s patent infringement litigation against Cisco
Systems, Inc., Cisco Linksys, LLC, Enterasys Networks, Inc., 3COM Corporation,
Inc., Extreme Networks, Inc., Foundry Networks, Inc. and Adtran, Inc. relating
to Network-1’s Remote Power Patent.
In
a “Markman Order”, the Court hearing a patent infringement case interprets and
rules on the scope and meaning of disputed patent claim language regarding the
patent at issue. In the recently issued Markman Order, the Court
adopted a number of constructions proposed by Network-1, while also adopting
constructions proposed by defendants as well as effectively invalidating two
claims at issue.
“We are
pleased with the Markman ruling and remain confident in our position that the
defendants infringe our patent rights”, said Corey M. Horowitz, Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Network-1. “A Markman Order that does
not entirely adopt either the plaintiff’s or defendants’ proposed constructions
is very common in patent litigation. While the outcome of this and
any legal matter is unpredictable, we believe the Court's Markman Order is
another significant step towards the successful resolution of this litigation
and further validates Network-1’s ongoing commitment to the enforcement of its
intellectual property rights.”
On February 11, 2008, Network-1
announced that it had initiated patent litigation against several major data
networking equipment manufacturers in the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, for infringement of its Remote Power
Patent. Remaining defendants in the lawsuit are Cisco Systems, Inc.,
Cisco-Linksys, LLC, Enterasys Networks, Inc., 3Com Corporation, Inc., Extreme
Networks, Inc., Foundry Networks, Inc., and Adtran, Inc.
In May 2009, Network-1 settled its
litigation with Netgear, one of the defendants in the patent
litigation. As part of the settlement and under the Network-1’s
Special Licensing Program, Netgear entered into a license agreement with the
Network-1 for the Remote Power Patent, effective April 1, 2009. Under
the terms of the license, Netgear licenses the Remote Power Patent for its full
term which expires in March 2020, and pays quarterly royalties (beginning as of
April 1, 2009) based on its sales of Power over Ethernet
products. Licensed products include Netgear’s Power over Ethernet
enabled switches and wireless access points. The royalty rates
included in the license are 1.7% of the sales price of Power Sourcing Equipment,
which includes Ethernet switches, and 2% of the sales price of Powered Devices,
which includes wireless access points. In addition, Netgear
made a payment of $350,000 upon signing of the license agreement.
The
Remote Power Patent relates to, among other things, the delivery of power over
Ethernet cables in order to remotely power network connected devices including,
among others, wireless switches, wireless access points, RFID card readers, VOIP
telephones and network cameras. In September 2003, the Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) approved the IEEE 802.3af Power over
Ethernet standard which has led to the rapid adoption of
PoE. In September 2009, the IEEE approved the IEEE 802.3at
standard, which is an amendment to the Power over Ethernet
Standard. The IEEE 802.3at standard increases the amount of
power that can be delivered over Ethernet cables, which will allow devices with
increased power requirements to also be remotely powered.
By taking
advantage of PoE technology, companies can deploy next generation solutions such
as Voice over IP and Wireless LAN’s without having to run separate power
cables. PoE technology provides numerous benefits including
significant deployment savings and increased service reliability through
centralized backup power. These benefits have caused analysts to identify PoE as
a “must have” technology and vendors have responded with a wealth of new product
offerings.
Indeed,
industry analysts expect PoE to become a defacto technology embedded in LAN
Ethernet switches that power devices such as wireless access points, VOIP
telephones, and network cameras, among others. Industry analysts project that in
2009 fully 20% of all Ethernet switch ports were PoE enabled and between 90 and
95% of IP Phones and Wireless Access Points were also so enabled.
ABOUT
NETWORK-1 SECURITY SOLUTIONS, INC.
Network-1
Security Solutions, Inc. is engaged in the acquisition, development, licensing
and protection of its intellectual property and proprietary technologies. It
currently owns six patents covering various telecommunications and data
networking technologies and is currently focusing its licensing efforts on its
Remote Power Patent (U.S. Patent No. 6,218,930) covering the remote delivery of
power over Ethernet networks. The Remote Power Patent was granted by
the U.S. Office of Patents and Trademarks on April 21, 2001 and expires on March
11, 2020.
This
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements address future events and conditions concerning Network-1’s
business plans. Such statements are subject to a number of risk factors and
uncertainties as disclosed in Network-1’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2008 including, among others, the ability of Network-1
to obtain license agreements from third parties for its patent portfolio,
uncertainty of patent litigation, Network-1’s ability to achieve
revenues and profits from its patent portfolio, Network-1’s ability to raise
capital when needed, future economic conditions and technology changes and
legislative, regulatory and competitive developments. Except as otherwise
required to be disclosed in periodic reports, Network-1 expressly disclaims any
future obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking
statement contained herein.