A few weeks ago, Cambridge Enterprise Ltd, the University of Cambridge’s technology commercialization service, issued a press release noting that it had granted "exclusive license" to Alps Electric Co., Ltd for access to "the University’s core patent for a revolutionary holographic video projector technology, developed in the Department of Engineering. "The technology involves the use of LCOS microdisplays driven by a holographic grating pattern and illuminated with laser light.

A lps Electric intends to manufacture miniature projectors based on the University’s patented technology that will be highly energy efficient, will always be in focus and will be extremely robust. These qualities would make them ideal for building into laptops, mobile phones and other products.

The company is also a strategic partner in the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE), which includes Advance Nanotech, Ericcson, Dow Corning and the University of Cambridge. The collaborative team has built a prototype laser projector, which was demonstrated at the ALPS SHOW in Tokyo earlier this year. The prototype reportedly produced a full color (24-bit), 60Hz frame-rate (180Hz red-green-blue sub-frame rate), 16:9 video image.

University of Cambridge Professor Bill Crossland is one of the leading inventors on the core patent and the Principal Investigator for the collaborative research project with Alps Electric.

This is all quite interesting, but the announcement raised some red flags with us because it sounds just like the deal we thought Light Blue Optics had with the same University of Cambridge.

In response, Light Blue Optics (LBO) issued a release earlier this week noting it had signed, "an exclusive licensing agreement on a key patent with Cambridge Enterprise Ltd covering a method for real-time, full-color holographic laser projection. "LBO’s Director of Business Development, Dr. Edward Buckley, and Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Adrian Cable, invented this method in 2003, while they were PhD students at the University of Cambridge.

Founded in 2004, LBO has developed an innovative projection system that uses laser light sources and diffractive techniques to deliver high-quality, real-time, full-color video images in focus at all distances - even on curved or angled surfaces.

LBO recently added $1M USD to its coffers, extending its seed round of financing from 3i, a leading venture capital firm that invested $2.5M in the company in July 2006.

If you think these two deals sound the same, you are not alone. After a number of phone calls to try to figure this out, Insight Media found that officials from all of the interested parties were pointing to the press releases as the definitive statements on the matter, citing NDAs and confidentiality as reasons for not disclosing more.

However, a few hints were offered. Some sources stressed that one should look at the words full color in the LBO release, suggesting that the Alps approach would not be able to do this. But this seems to be refuted by the performance of the prototype.

Other sources said look at the word method in the LBO release, suggesting that this is somehow a weaker IP position. Yet LBO claims to have an exclusive license to a patent, and VCs don’t usually invest unless they feel confident about a company’s IP position. Confused yet?

The net result is that there seems to be an IP dispute brewing that may have been spawned by rival groups within Cambridge University. Compounding matters is the fact that this concept is not new, and a number of patents have been filed as more sophisticated algorithms and hardware have been developed. These approaches may prove to be defensible and valid, but it also raises red flags with investors and customers. It’s possible that commercialization of these tiny laser projectors could become stalled as these issues get straightened out. We will have to see about that.

We will continue to unravel the onion to tell you more in the next issue of Projection Monthly with Flat Panel Coverage.