Press Release

ITW #1 on Patent Scorecard, According to The Patent Board's Industrial Components & Fixtures Patent Scorecard published in The Wall Street Journal

According to The Patent Board's Industrial Components & Fixtures Patent Scorecard published in The Wall Street Journal, Royal Philips Electronics N.V. jumps 12 spots

Glenview, Illinois – April 22, 2008

Illinois Tool Works (Glenview, Illinois, USA) moved up one position to lead the Industrial Components & Fixtures industry sector. ITW leads this industry in patents issued and showed improvement in all ratings including a 90% improvement in Science Strength which indicates how much a company uses science in building its patent portfolio. They also showed a 14% increase in Technology Strength, a 12% increase in Industry Impact, a 13% increase in Research Intensity and their patenting was up 7% overall. Illinois Tool Works makes a range of products used in the automotive, construction, electronics, food and beverage, paper products, and pharmaceuticals industries. Their feature brands are ITW Brands known for tools and fasteners, ITW ActiveTouch known for Trapped Acoustic Resonance sensors; and Miller Electric Mfg. Co. who manufactures arc welding and cutting equipment.

Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. (Little Neck, New York, USA) fell one spot to number 2 in the ranking. They maintain a very high Current Impact™ rating combined with a smaller patent portfolio than the remainder of the Top 10. Leviton's patenting is down by 24%with a 3% increase in Industry Impact™ which allowed them to maintain their second place ranking. Leviton makes switches, plugs, connectors, and integrated networks designed for home, commercial, and industrial uses. The company's divisions also produce lighting controls and voice and data equipment.

Royal Philips Electronics N.V. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) showed a 54% increase in Technology Strength™ and jumped up twelve positions from 17th to rank 5th overall. Philips Electronic saw a 12% increase in their Industry Impact™, as well as, a 43% increase in patents granted. Philips Electronics makes consumer electronics, including TVs, VCRs, DVD players, and fax machines. But it also makes light bulbs, electric shavers and other personal care appliances, picture tubes, medical systems, and silicon systems solutions.

General Electric Company (Fairfield, Connecticut, USA) jumped up six positions from 12th to 6th with an 11% increase in patenting and a 43% increase in Science Strength™. GE is found in seven of The Patent Board's industry-specific Patent Scorecards. Only those patents related to industrial products are included in this scorecard.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) showed a 15% improvement in Science Strength™ and an11% increase in Research Intensity™ showing a focus on core research. The increase of one position to rank 4th overall was based in an 8% improvement of Current Impact™ and a small decrease in patents issued. Rockwell Automation is one of the world's largest industrial automation companies. Their company's control systems unit makes industrial automation products such as motor starters and contactors, relays, timers, signaling devices, and variable speed drives.

FCI (Versailles Cedex France) had a 12% increase in patenting while maintaining a strong but declining Industry Impact™ of 1.48. Combined these changes caused a move into the Top 10 from 11th to 9th position. FCI is a developer of connectors and interconnect systems. Their commitment to innovation results in over 6% of their annual turnover being invested into their Research and Development efforts.

The number of patents issued decreased by 6% over the last period for the Industrial Components & Fixtures industry, which includes 160 companies.

The Patent Scorecard reviews all patent activity in the Industrial Components & Fixtures industry sector and is published in The Wall Street Journal by The Patent Board, the leading independent provider of indicators, tools and metrics for patent analysis and intellectual property investing. The Patent Scorecard uses The Patent Board's industry-standard data and proprietary analytical tools to assess patent value, and ranks companies worldwide in 17-industry sectors.

The Patent Board Scorecard Ranks Illinois Tool Works as #1 Innovator in Industrial Components & Fixtures Industry

Top 10 Innovators in Industrial Components & Fixtures Patent Scorecard™ | Quarterly snapshot - 13 week averages

*(Industrial Components & Fixtures patents only for the multi-industry companies)

About The Patent Board Indicators

• Patents Granted - equals the number of U.S. patents granted in a given year, excluding design and other special-case inventions.
• Science Strength™ - ranking measure to indicate how much a company uses science in building its patent portfolio with a combined measure of science and quantity.
• Innovation Cycle Time™ - indicates whether a patent or patent portfolio is building off newer or older inventions (art).
• Industry Impact™ - indicates the extent to which others are building upon a portfolio of issued US utility patents as compared to the total set of utility patents.
• Technology Strength™ - ranking measure to indicate an overall strength of the company's patent portfolio holdings with a combined measure of quality and quantity.
• Research Intensity™ - indicates the extent to which a portfolio includes patents with above average Science Linkage as compared to the control group.