B'lore-based Prodigy Labs in licensing pact with HP

Bangalore-based Prodigy Labs has signed a pact with HP's intellectual property (IP) licensing centre in Singapore to licence HP's gesture-based keyboard technology.

Developed by HP Labs India, the gesture-based keyboard is an electronic pen-based device that can be used to create text in languages that use phonetic scripts (Indian languages) rather than Roman alphabets common in Western languages. With the keyboard, users record data the way most people learn to write "" with a pen.

Prodigy Labs, a product development company, will manufacture the gesture-based keyboard under its own brand name and manage all marketing, sales and support of technology.

"Developing innovative products like the gesture-based keyboard requires a significant investment in research and development, which can be a barrier for companies with limited R&D resources," said Harsha K V, MD, Prodigy Labs.

"With this licencing agreement, Prodigy Labs gains access to HP's intellectual property and vast research capabilities, which helps us quickly develop products while lowering our investments and getting to market faster."

According to a statement from HP, the Asia Pacific IP Licensing Centre will initially focus on developing new technology licensing agreements in Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, India and China. It has plans to expand to other countries in the region as business needs arise.

Licences are available for HP's know-how, patents, trademarks and copyrights in a broad range of technology areas, including consumer electronics, emerging technologies, semiconductors, networking, software and storage.

The Asia Pacific IP Licensing Center extends HP's worldwide IP licensing programme, which was formed in 2003 as a means to generate additional value from HP's IP by increasing its use in new markets through licences to third parties. The programme also ensures HP receives fair value for the use of its IP by others.

"HP's strong legacy of innovation has generated a vast IP portfolio, including over 30,000 patents. Our IP licencing programme ensures that important technology gets to market through the transfer of our patents and technical know-how," said Joe Beyers, vice president, Intellectual Property Licensing, HP.

"The expansion of our IP licencing programme to Asia broadens our ability to monetise our IP assets and realise a greater return on our R&D investment," he added.