OTTAWA, CANADA- Aug. 28, 2006 -- Wi-LAN Inc. (TSX:WIN - News; "Wi-LAN" or "the Company") today announced the hiring of two key executives. Mr. William (Bill) Middleton joins Wi-LAN as Vice President, Licensing & General Counsel and Mr. Jung Yee as Chief Technology Officer. Both begin their first official day at Wi-LAN today.
Mr. Middleton joins Wi-LAN from Nygard International, where he was Vice President, Legal Services and General Counsel. Mr. Middleton was previously General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of MOSAID Technologies Inc., a leading Canadian technology licensor, and also has many years of private practice experience with two major national law firms.
"During his years at MOSAID, Bill was instrumental in managing its patent litigations and was a significant contributor to the success of its licensing program," said Jim Skippen, President and CEO of Wi-LAN. "I am pleased to have him join Wi-LAN to assist with the negotiation of license agreements, to direct our patent litigation and to help manage the licensing program."
Mr. Yee joins Wi-LAN from IceFyre Semiconductor where he was the Chief Technology Officer and one of the Company's founders. Mr. Yee has over 20 years experience in research and development in the electronics industry. He is an authority on wireless systems, including WiFi, Bluetooth, WiMAX, CDMA, and GSM. Mr. Yee is the former chairman of the IEEE 802.16 MAC task group.
"Jung is well known in Canada for his expertise in the wireless field, and will be a key contributor to Wi-LAN's licensing initiatives," said Mr. Skippen. "Jung will provide technical assistance and support for licensing discussions and litigation as well as expert analysis of Wi-LAN's patent acquisition opportunities."
About Wi-LAN Inc.
Wi-LAN holds a varied portfolio of essential patents in large, existing and emerging industries: CDMA2000, WiFi and WiMAX. Wi-LAN has licensed its patents to a few companies. Wi-LAN is a charter member of the WiMAX Forum (www.wimaxforum.org).
