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Countrywide Financial Corporation Purchases a License Under the Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. Patents

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 November 2007, 09:00 CST

It was announced today that Countrywide Financial Corporation a diversified financial services provider and a member of the S&P 500, Forbes 2000, and Fortune 500 (NYSE:CFC), headquartered in Calabasas, CA, has purchased a license under the patent portfolio held by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. and licensed through A2D, L.P.

The nonexclusive license covers services offered by Countrywide in the "Financial Services Call Processing" field of use. These services, including customer service provided to consumer and business accounts, are delivered through automated systems as well as the combination of automated systems and live agents. Other terms of the license were not disclosed.

The patents held by Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. cover a wide range of interactive technology including automated forms of: customer service, securities trading, prescription refill services, merchandising, prepaid services, telephone conferences, registration, home shopping, as well as functions involved in securing information from databases by telephone, interactive cable transactions, and various other uses of toll free and local numbers.

According to Jay Laifman, Executive Vice President, Countrywide Financial Corporation, "These are important patents which describe technologies commonly found in sophisticated, state-of-the-art call centers such as the call centers we operate. We are pleased to have secured this significant license."

Ronald A. Katz, Chief Executive of Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P. stated, "We are pleased to welcome Countrywide Financial Corporation to the dozens of financial services companies who have purchased license rights under this portfolio."

There are over 200 companies with license rights under this portfolio, including over 25 energy and utility companies. Companies with license rights under this portfolio include: Advanta Corp., Alltel Corporation, American Century, American Express, Automatic Data Processing, Inc., AT&T Corp., Bank of America Corporation, BB&T Corporation, Capital One Services Inc., Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, Certegy Inc., Dell Inc., Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc., Delta Air Lines, Inc., Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P., Equifax Inc., Excel Communications Inc., First Data Corporation, First National Bank of Omaha, First Tennessee National Corporation, The Gallup Organization, Hewlett-Packard Company, Home Shopping Network Inc., Household International, Inc., HSBC Bank USA, International Business Machines (IBM), KeyCorp, LaSalle Bank Corporation, Marriott International, Inc., MCI Inc., Mediacom Communications Corporation, Mellon Financial Corporation, Merck & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., Metris Companies Inc., Microsoft, MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc., Nationwide, OppenheimerFunds, Inc., People's Bank, PetMed Express, Inc., The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., Principal Financial Group, Inc., Prudential Financial, Inc., QVC, Inc., Sears, Roebuck and Co., Shop At Home, Inc., Sprint Corporation, SouthTrust Bank, Sunoco, Inc., Synovus, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., The Vanguard Group, Inc., Verizon California Inc. and its affiliates, Wachovia Corporation, and Wells Fargo & Company.

Mr. Katz is the named inventor on a large number of patents primarily in the fields of telecommunications and computing. He also formed Telecredit, Inc., the nation's first on-line real time credit and check cashing authorization system, and was awarded a patent as co-inventor of that technology.

Founded in 1969, Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE:CFC) is a diversified financial services provider and a member of the S&P 500, Forbes 2000, and Fortune 500. Through its family of companies, Countrywide: originates, purchases, securitizes, sells, and services prime and nonprime loans; provides loan closing services such as credit reports, appraisals and flood determinations; offers banking services which include depository and home loan products; conducts fixed income securities underwriting and trading activities; provides property, life and casualty insurance; and manages a captive mortgage reinsurance company. For more information about the Company, visit Countrywide's website at www.countrywide.com.

Source: Business Wire

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