Falls Church, VA - November 15, 2002 - Metrics Group announces the availability of a new report-- Technical Intelligence Profile (TIP): Nano Patenting. The TIP provides a broad overview of patenting activity in the field of nanotechnology, identifies patenting leaders and new players, and presents a listing of top-ranked patents.

The findings in the report include:

• Annual U.S. Nano patenting activity has increased dramatically over the past decade. In 1990, fewer than 70 patents were issued. By 2001, more than 800 patents were issued - an average of more than 15 per week.
• L'Oreal, IBM, the University of California, Xerox, the U.S. Navy, Eastman Kodak, ExxonMobil, MIT, Micron Technology, Nanogen, and 3M are the patenting leaders. The patents of Nanogen, Xerox, IBM, and the University of California may be particularly valuable.
• Nanogram Corporation is an important new player in the field.

Metrics Group designed the Nano TIP to be useful to anyone who has a stake in the future of nanotechnology. Companies, universities, and investors may all find the report to be of interest,” said Rich Kolar, lead analyst on the report.

About the TIP Series
Metrics Group uses text- and data-mining software to extract and analyze patent data and other information from electronic databases to produce each TIP. TIPs also include patent citation analytics from Metrics Group's exclusive Citation Indicator Analytics^TM Database.

About Metrics Group, LLC
Metrics Group is a research firm that specializes in patent mapping, mining, and analytics. Metrics’ reports are used as an information resource by technology licensing professionals, intellectual property attorneys, securities analysts, and corporate strategists. Visit www.metricsgroup.com or www.patentcitations.com for more information.

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