IGP Intercede Group Plc

    RNS Number : 1139F
  Intercede Group PLC
  06 October 2008
   

    6 OCTOBER 2008 

    INTERCEDE GROUP plc
    ("Intercede" or "the Company")

    Statement Relating To Possible Patent Infringement Suit

    Intercede (AIM:IGP), the producer of the Intercede MyID* Identity and Credential Management System, notes certain news reports
indicating that ActivIdentity, formerly an Intercede business partner and OEM licensee of Intercede's smart card management software (see
note 1 below), has filed an infringement suit against Intercede. 

    Intercede has, to date, received no formal notification of action from ActivIdentity but after investigation has confirmed that a
complaint was filed by ActivIdentity in the District Court of North California on 1 October 2008 concerning U.S. Patent 6,575,360. 

    According to the details of the filing, this patent was issued to a 3rd party on 10 June 2003 and ownership was transferred to
ActivIdentity on 6 July 2006. As such Intercede does not believe this patent was derived from ActivIdentity's own research and development
activities.

    As a software company, Intercede takes intellectual property rights very seriously and is scrupulous in protecting the rights of
Intercede and other legitimate owners. Intercede retains leading patent lawyers to ensure that both its intellectual property and that of
others is not infringed.

    Intercede is aware of the '360' patent and has previously obtained expert opinion in the UK and US to confirm, beyond reasonable doubt,
that none of its technology or products incorporate any intellectual property that may be protected by this patent.  

    Intercede has previously discussed the patent at issue with ActivIdentity and was satisfied that it had demonstrated to ActivIdentity
why none of Intercede's products infringe any valid claim of the patent. In the last eight months Intercede has received no communications
from ActivIdentity to indicate they disagreed with this position.
    

    Richard Parris, Chairman and Chief Executive of Intercede, said;
    
    "The timing of this filing is questionable as it so closely follows recent press releases about Intercede's commercial successes in the
US market. I believe ActivIdentity are resorting to the distraction tactic of litigation because their value proposition in the card
management software market is failing (see note 2 below). Should ActivIdentity proceed with this action, Intercede will vigorously defend
itself. 

    As Intercede continues to achieve unprecedented commercial success with its technologically advanced solutions, it is inevitable that we
will elicit a range of competitive responses from those companies who are threatened by Intercede's encroachment into their home markets. We
welcome this particular challenge so that we can publicly demonstrate that the Intercede MyID system, supported by Intercede's own patented
technology, is the most secure identity and credential management system available today. Unlike our competitors, all Intercede technology
is developed in-house to ensure we do not rely on 3rd party originated intellectual property."
    

    Intercede has today issued separately a positive trading update in respect of the 6 months ended 30 September 2008. Sales compared to
the first half of the previous financial year have risen by 25% and a profit was generated at both pre and post tax level. The Directors of
Intercede remain confident of the Company's future prospects.

    Note 1: On 7 December 2001 and 23 April 2002, Intercede announced to the London Stock Exchange that ActivIdentity had paid Intercede an
OEM license fee of $800,000 for an undisclosed number of Intercede MyID software licences (formerly branded as edefice). Full details of
these announcements can be found on Intercede's web site, www.intercede.com.

    Note 2: ActivIdentity reported a $2.0 million year-on-year decrease in card management software revenues in the 9 months to June 2008
(Source: Form10-Q Filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the Quarterly Period ended 30 June 2008). This is at a time when
Intercede, a company focused exclusively on card management software, has experienced a substantial increase in revenues.

    ENQUIRIES

 Intercede Group plc                         Tel.    +44 (0)1455 558111
 Richard Parris, Chairman & Chief Executive
 Andrew Walker, Finance Director

 Pelham Public Relations                     Tel.    +44 (0)20 7743 6679
 Archie Berens
 Robert Koh

 KBC Peel Hunt                               Tel. + 44 (0)20 7418 8900
 Richard Kauffer
 Daniel Harris




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
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