Microprocessor Inventor Signs Patent-License Deals : Electronics: Pacts with Japanese firms lend credence to Gilbert Hyatt’s claim that he is father of microchip.
LA PALMA — Gilbert P. Hyatt, who is belatedly gaining recognition as the inventor of the microprocessor, said Monday that he has signed patent-license agreements with six major Japanese electronics manufacturers, including NEC, Sharp and Sony.
Hyatt declined to identify three other Japanese firms that he said have signed licensing agreements for several of his patents, including a 1990 patent for the invention of the computer on a chip--or the microprocessor.
This recognition “gives me an opportunity and a basis to return something to the system and the financial resources to continue to bring research and development opportunities to the market,†Hyatt said.
Hyatt has refused to discuss financial details of the licenses. But a spokesman for Philips N.V., the Dutch electronics giant, has estimated that Hyatt’s patents could generate more than $100 million in royalties. Philips is negotiating license deals for Hyatt with a number of electronics companies worldwide, Hyatt said.
Hyatt has said that the license fees will be significantly less than the standard 2% or 3% of revenue generated by products in which the patented technology is used.
The announcement that major Japanese companies have decided to pay for the rights to use technology invented by Hyatt lends credibility to his claim that he is the father of the microchip. Hyatt sought for 20 years to prove to detractors that his invention helped spawn a broad range of electronics products, including personal computers, videocassette recorders and camcorders. He was finally awarded a patent in July, 1990.
“Any significant licensees like this add credibility to his position,†said Michael Ladra, a patent lawyer in Palo Alto. “It’s hard to know if the companies believe the patent is strong or Hyatt’s terms are so low that it’s not worth fighting about. . . . If his strategy is to sign up more people for less money to avoid litigation, it appears to be working.â€
In a patent appeals proceeding, Texas Instruments in Dallas is disputing the claim that Hyatt was the first to build a computer on a single semiconductor chip.
Hyatt is looking for a permanent home in Las Vegas, where, he said, he will work closely with the Interface Group, which coordinates the computer industry’s largest trade show, Comdex, in the fall of each year.
Hyatt said the Interface Group will assist him in marketing a group of computer-related technologies that he calls PC-21, a reference to his vision of the personal computer in the 21st Century.
The deals with the Japanese companies were signed during the past six months, Hyatt said.
