02/26/2001
Delphion Launches Derwent Data on the Web,
Opening World of Patent Data to Business Professionals

First-of-its-kind integration breaks down barriers to finding and understanding data in millions of worldwide patent documents

CHICAGO - February 26, 2001 - Delphion Inc., a new company that provides intellectual asset management software and services, today announced the release of the Derwent World Patents Index, the world's largest database of value-added patent abstracts, on the Delphion Intellectual Property Network. Now, the clear and concise patent abstracts within the Derwent WPI are directly linked to their corresponding original patents, which are in the Delphion IPN. As a result, the critical business information contained in patents is now more easily and quickly available to professionals at all levels of research expertise.

"The Delphion IPN has quickly grown to become the world's most popular online destination for researching patents," said Woody Ritchey, president and CEO of Delphion. "With the addition of the Derwent WPI, we are significantly extending the Delphion IPN's value, particularly for business professionals who want an easier and faster way to tap into the tremendous insights that can be gained from patent information."

Patents, once stored away in the dusty file cabinets of corporate attorneys and government agencies, are now at the heart of the business battlefield. Increasingly, companies are leveraging the wealth of intelligence found in patents to identify licensing opportunities, track their competitors' actions, and find and qualify acquisition targets.

The information in patents, however, has been impenetrable to most business professionals, as the documents often consist of obscure and confusing language. A patent for an ice skate blade, for instance, could have the title, "composite skate assembly" - making it difficult for most people to readily find and clearly understand the information. The Derwent WPI database contains patent titles and abstracts rewritten from the original patents, making them more easily recognizable.

The combination of the Derwent and Delphion databases - available on a single platform at www.delphion.com - provides an unparalleled solution for helping both novice and expert searchers navigate through millions of patents to find relevant data. The solution leverages each company's strengths: Derwent's easy-to-understand data, and Delphion's easy-to-use search capabilities. The Delphion IPN provides streamlined access to Derwent data and original versions of patents via an intuitive Web-based interface. Unlike other patent databases, the Delphion IPN does not require its users to have special command-language skills to conduct searches.

About the Derwent World Patents Index
Derwent's flagship product, the Derwent WPI, is the most comprehensive database of value-added patent documents published in the world. Every week, a team of 350 editors assess, classify and index over 27,000 patent documents, sourced from 40 international patent-issuing authorities, to provide concise English language abstracts, which are readily searched and easily understood. More information about the Derwent WPI can be found at www.derwent.com/dwpi.

About Derwent Information
Derwent Information is the world's leading patent and scientific information provider and has been assisting companies to stay ahead of the competition for 50 years. Its parent company, The Thomson Corporation, is a highly focused e-information and solutions company that serves the global business and professional marketplace. Derwent is part of Thomson Scientific, a leading provider of value-added databases and software tools that enable the scientific research community to access and manage published materials. With its unique and unrivalled portfolio of information and research products, including the flagship product, Derwent World Patents Index, Derwent has become the first port of call for all the major users of patent information. Derwent's customer base spans the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and engineering sectors, as well as the legal, financial and academic sectors, research libraries and national patent organisations - worldwide. More information about Derwent can be found on the Derwent website, www.derwent.com.

About the Delphion Intellectual Property Network
The Delphion IPN is the premier website for searching, exploring, analyzing and tracking patents and related information. In addition to Derwent information, it provides users with:

• fast, confidential searching of worldwide patent collections and prior art

• the ability to explore patent documents, relationships and licensing opportunities

• tools to analyze and trace patent-related trends, market developments and competitive activities.

About Delphion Inc.
Delphion Inc. is a new company that provides intellectual asset management software and services. The company's solutions empower intellectual property (IP) and business professionals to research, manage and leverage IP assets to explore new business opportunities and generate new revenue and profits. In 2000, the company was spun out of IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and funded by Internet Capital Group (Nasdaq: ICGE). Delphion's solutions include the Delphion Intellectual Property Network (IPN), an online database of more than 40 million patent documents from throughout the world. Delphion's solutions are based on technologies originally developed by IBM, which is considered to be the world leader in IP management. Delphion is based in the Chicago suburb of Lisle, Ill., and has additional offices in San Jose, Calif., and the Netherlands. The company's main phone number is 630-799-0600, and its website address is www.delphion.com.

Media and Analyst Contact:
Rich Dobinski
Public Relations Manager
Delphion Inc.
630-799-0630
rdobinski@delphion.com

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