May 27, 2003, Kent, Ohio - Kent Displays announces that it has licensed its Cholesteric "No Power" LCD Technology to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, a leading manufacturer of consumer electronic products. "We are most pleased to add Matsushita and its Panasonic brand as one of our licensees. For many years they have been a world leader in manufacturing electronic products for industrial and consumer use. We further view Matsushita’s license as another endorsement of the Cholesteric Technology and our portfolio,” stated Joel C. Domino, President of Kent Displays. Other current licensees of Kent’s Cholesteric portfolio include, NANOX Corporation of Fukushima-City, Japan; Varitronix Ltd. Of Hong Kong, LC Tec AB of Borlange, Sweden, Vizta 3D Corporation of Norwalk, CT; and VLYTE Corporation of Limerick Ireland.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Ltd. recently announced that it would introduce its proprietary electronic-book (e-book) called "sigma book" in the autumn of 2003 in Japan and follow in China shortly thereafter. The e-book can be folded as if it were a real book. When opened, its spread has two monochrome LCD panels side by side, and two AA-size batteries in the hinge to allow the e-book to run for three to six months. The A4, 29cm x 20cm x 1.3cm, e-book weighs about 550g. It is also compatible with CPRM, or "Content Protection for Recordable Media" technology.

As of this date, Kent’s licensable portfolio holds 70 patents, 32 in the United States and 38 in countries such as Japan, PRC, Great Britain, Korea, Italy, Israel, Germany, Sweden, France and the Netherlands. In additions to those patents already issued, Kent’s portfolio includes 40 applications in many of the aforementioned countries as well as Taiwan, Sweden, Spain and others. The Kent Display portfolio represents the patent portfolio of Kent State University, Kent Display Systems and Kent Displays, Inc.