Osram Grants Royalty License to Everlight Electronics Co.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Oct. 1, 20037, 2003--Osram GmbH, Munich today announced it has signed a patent license contract with Everlight Electronics Co. Ltd., Taipei enabling Everlight to manufacture and sell surface-mountable light emitting diodes (SMT LEDs) for white and coloured light. The agreement also enables Everlight to manufacture and sell other white LEDs with conversion technology, for which Osram holds patents. Typical applications for these products include backlighting for mobile phone and car radio displays.

"Over the years, we have built a very strong position and have a good deal of intellectual property at our disposal," explains Dr. Rudiger Mueller, chief executive officer, Osram Opto Semiconductors. "We are now willing to grant licenses to other companies. The demand for SMT LEDs and white LEDs is growing so quickly that for capacity reasons, we are not able to provide all the products the market requires." The company signed patent contracts with Nichia and Rohm last year, and now, for the first time, it has entered into a contract with a company from Taiwan.

SMT mounting forms are very small and facilitate further processing in industrial series manufacturing. Osram holds patents for several mounting forms and packages for SMT LEDs.

Conversion technology for LEDs was developed by the Osram Opto Semiconductors subsidiary in Germany. This technology enables white LEDs to be produced using blue emitting InGaN (Indium Gallium Nitride)-based chips and a suitable fluorescent converter.

About Osram

Osram is one of the two largest lighting manufacturers in the world. The Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH subsidiary in Regensburg offers its customers a range of solutions based on semiconductor technology for lighting, sensor and visualisation applications. The company operates facilities in Regensburg (Germany), San Jose (USA) and Penang (Malaysia). In the 2002 fiscal year (to the end of September) its 3,370 employees produced sales totaling EURO 309 million. Further information is available at www.osram-os.com.

About Everlight

Visit company's homepage www.Everlight.com.