Berkeley, California - April 22, 2002 - Today, at the Patent Information User's Group Annual Meeting, Metrics Group announced the formation of a Strategic Alliance with VisWave, an informatics firm that specializes in 3-D data visualization software. As part of the Alliance, Metrics Group will use VisWave's flagship product, VxInsight, to map patent landscapes and identify areas of technological opportunity.

VxInsight is a cutting-edge visualization tool that helps users understand the structure of complex data sets. Using an intuitive visual interface, VxInsight allows users to create topographical maps and interactively explore the connections and patterns within their data. When applied to patent data, VxInsight produces navigable maps based on multiple, interlinked patent citation trees.

"We are very excited to have formed this Strategic Alliance. VxInsight is a powerful software package that has tremendous application potential as a patent mining tool," said Simone Friedman, CEO of Metrics Group.

"VxInsight can be used with numerous types of data, including genomics, bibliographics, and intellectual property. We are very pleased to be teaming with Metrics Group to further the use of VxInsight with patents," said Brian Wylie, President of VisWave.

The Strategic Alliance with VisWave will enhance Metrics Group's existing suite of patent mining tools, including Metrics Group's proprietary Citation Indicator Analytics Database. Metrics Group uses these tools to produce custom, semi-custom, and standard research reports on patenting trends and licensing opportunities.

About Metrics Group
Metrics Group, LLC is a Falls Church, Virginia-based research firm that specializes in mining patent and publication databases for competitive intelligence and patent portfolio management. Offering a wide range of reports, alerting services, and online tools, Metrics Group is the value leader in the field of Innovation Analytics. Visit www.metricsgroup.com for more information.

About VisWave
VisWave, LLC is an informatics firm that specializes in developing software tools to analyze complex data. VxInsight, VisWave's flagship product, is a cutting-edge 3-D visualization tool that transforms data into a visual format that is easy to interpret. Founded in 2001 using technology from Sandia National Laboratories, VisWave is based in Albuquerque, NM. Please visit www.viswave.com for more information.

Contact:
Heidi Bleau
617-864-2100
hbleau@ekms.com