New company, based in Dublin, will relaunch Microsoft Software Licensing and Protection Services as its primary offering.

REDMOND, Wash., and DUBLIN, Ireland – June 9, 2009 – A new startup company based in Dublin, InishTech, is entering the market today to relaunch Microsoft Software Licensing and Protection (SLP) Services. The new company, founded through collaboration between Microsoft IP Ventures and Enterprise Ireland, takes on responsibility for SLP Services’ existing customer base and will continue to provide, expand and grow the service to independent software vendors (ISVs) and developers around the world.

InishTech has assumed full responsibility for the existing customer base, acquired all rights to SLP Services, and licensed related intellectual property (IP) from Microsoft Corp. Microsoft will have an ongoing minority interest in the company and will continue to offer product service and support to customers for an initial period to ensure a smooth transition.

The Windows eHome Division is among the base of more than 120 customers that InishTech will take on board and InishTech will continue to work with  other product groups, business teams and divisions within Microsoft to expand the use of the SLP Services solution. InishTech is also participating in the Microsoft BizSpark program and will be actively marketing SLP Services in association with Microsoft.

“New development environments provide major benefits in terms of speed and cost to ISVs but can also create security challenges,” said Eddie Amos, general manager, Platform and Tools at Microsoft. “SLP Services, and now InishTech, fills a security need by offering superior code protection as well as flexible licensing management services.”

SLP Services – an easy-to-use family of technology services – enables ISVs and developers to implement strong code protection and flexible licensing models aimed at increasing sales, improving development efficiency and providing assurance to customers that their IP is more secure. In addition to security and protection services, InishTech will offer greater flexibility to software publishers relating to licensing models in order to meet increasingly diverse customer demands.

InishTech was created through collaboration among the Microsoft IP Ventures program, Enterprise Ireland and experienced entrepreneurs Aidan Gallagher, John O’Sullivan and David Smyth.

“We are committed to offering our customers the most flexible licensing and IP security solutions possible,” said Gallagher, CEO and co-founder of InishTech. “Software publishers have invested thousands of hours into their products, and InishTech will help provide code protection and flexible licensing without adversely impacting their product development life cycle or compromising the functionality of their applications. We believe SLP Services is the quickest to deploy, easiest to use and most feature-rich solution in the market today.”

The services offered by InishTech will allow software publishers and ISVs to license products in flexible ways that support and enable new business models, and to protect their software investment through code transformation, license compliance and product activation. More information on InishTech can be found at http://testinish.azurewebsites.net.

Enterprise Ireland, the enterprise development agency of the Irish government, was responsible for introducing Gallagher, O’Sullivan and Smyth to the Microsoft IP Ventures team. In June 2008, Enterprise Ireland was instrumental in the formation of Zignals, an Irish startup – also launched through the Microsoft IP Ventures program – that provides online investing tools to traders.

Frank Ryan, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, welcomed the announcement, saying: “The establishment of InishTech as an Irish startup company represents a significant milestone in the relationship between Enterprise Ireland and Microsoft. InishTech is a prime example of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy to enable Irish companies and entrepreneurs to acquire technologies from global corporations in action. This is one of a number of agreements concluded between Irish enterprises and Microsoft with the support of Enterprise Ireland.”

“The launch of InishTech is a tangible example of how IP licensing and collaboration can significantly benefit the entrepreneurial and small-business communities all around the world as well as the overall IT ecosystem,” said Sharieff Mansour, director of Microsoft IP Ventures, noting that this is the first time the Microsoft IP Ventures program has spun out an existing Microsoft business. “We’ve been very impressed with the vision and collective IT experience at InishTech and have complete confidence that our customers will thrive under its leadership.”

Microsoft Program Combines Innovation With Unique Approach to IP Licensing

InishTech is the most recent company to be launched under the dynamic Microsoft IP Ventures program, which started in May 2005 to expedite the commercialization of new innovations developed through the company’s significant research and development investment. Microsoft IP Ventures is a global program demonstrating the potential of intellectual property to create opportunity for both startup and existing firms by combining world-class computer science technology with entrepreneurial spirit. More information about the Microsoft IP Ventures program is available at: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/presskits/ipventures/default.mspx

About InishTech

Founded in 2009, InishTech provides Software Developers and Product Managers globally with code protection and license management solutions that protect their most valuable asset and enable their customers to deploy and use their products in the most flexible manner possible. InishTech’s Software Licensing and Protection (SLP) Services provides ISVs with a choice of either a managed or in-house service that is both easy to deploy and simple to incorporate in applications and products. For further information, please visit http://testinish.azurewebsites.net.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For more information, press only:

Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com

Monika Wencel, Operations Manager InishTech, mwencel@inishtech.com

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