Digimarc has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its ID Systems business to L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $250 million based on the current market price of L-1 company stock. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Digimarc stockholders will receive 50 percent of the purchase consideration in shares of L-1 stock and 50 percent in cash, subject to variations in the price of L-1 stock. As part of the transaction, L-1 has agreed to purchase $5 million of the common stock of the new digital watermarking company at fair market value. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2008. Digimarc Corporation is based in Beaverton, Oregon and L-1 Identity Solutions is headquartered in Stamford, CT.

AuthenTec’s fingerprint sensor help have been added to the first fingerprint-enabled phone offered by ASUSTeK. The M536 smart phone supports multiple cellular standards for operation worldwide and incorporates a Melbourne, Florida-based AuthenTec fingerprint sensor to protect sensitive personal data, enable convenient access to internet portals, and serve as a user input device for on-screen navigation. ASUS’ QWERTY keyboard-equipped M536 uses AuthenTec’s AES1710 fingerprint sensor with Power of Touch®. The AES1710 is based on AuthenTec’s patented TruePrint technology, the only solution in volume production that reads below the surface of the skin to the live layer where a person’s true fingerprint resides.  

Digimarc to focus on growing demand for Digital Watermarking Solutions

Digimarc has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its ID Systems business to L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $250 million based on the current market price of L-1 company stock. The acquisition has been approved by the respective Board of Directors of each company.

Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. (TABS) has formed a strategic alliance with Georgetown, Texas-based Ringdale®, offering the all-in-one secure document output management solution, FollowMe®, to Toshiba’s e-STUDIO™ family of products. FollowMe gives companies the ability to restrict access to documents by requiring users to authenticate themselves prior to retrieving their print jobs. Users can release sensitive print jobs directly at the output device through biometric fingerprint, proximity card, magnetic swipe card, smart card, PIN codes or barcodes. The Ringdale FollowMe secure document output management solution is currently available through Toshiba’s nationwide network of dealers.  

Verifications, Inc. and Advantage Biometrics Group have released Verifications’ enhanced electronic fingerprinting solution that allows employers to electronically submit fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or applicable state agency. The solution combines a nationwide network of electronic Live Scan devices with a web-based management interface that enables employers to initiate, track and manage the electronic fingerprinting process right from their desktop. Verifications also leverages its background screening expertise when conducting follow-up research. “It’s an end-to-end solution that seamlessly collects fingerprints, submits them to the applicable agency and returns results through an intuitive web-based interface tailored to each employer,” said John Lamb, Verifications, Inc. Executive Vice President of Marketing.  

Pay By Touch stopped processing transaction for its merchants, the company announced.

In December Solidus Networks filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. As part of the company’s restructuring, it was determined that the enterprise could no longer support the biometric authentication and payment system as it currently exists, based on lack of funding and current market conditions.

Pay By Touch’s biometrics business proved to be a huge money loser despite installations in more than 700 U.S. retail locations, most notably SuperValu Inc.’s Jewel/Osco grocery stores in the Chicago area.

Phoenix Check Cashing Inc. purchased of the BioPay Paycheck Secure business from Solidus Networks, which does business as Pay by Touch. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  

InfoSpan Gulf has signed a cooperation agreement with the Emirates Identity Authority, Abu Dhabi, to enable the National Identity Card with financial capabilities. The new capability makes the card a one-stop money exchange vehicle for every citizen within the UAE, with money always flowing through secure banking channels.

EIDA’s overall strategy – which will continue till 2010 - includes the establishment of a population register in order to facilitate government services. The strategt includes issuance of electronic identity cards to the whole population in the country - nationals and residents - in order to verify and confirm the identity of each individual through the unique identity number and the smart ID card and biometrics.  

Sagem Sécurité will supply iris recognition technology to Oman and Jordan. The systems will be be deployed at more than 100 sites and used for ID checks at borders and airports. Border police in both countries will call on databases with previous records of people’s irises.  

bioMETRX and Oki Semiconductor Company are working together on a new solution that will result in lowering bioMETRX’s overall build costs for its expanding smartTOUCH finger-activated consumer product lines.

OKI recently announced that it has begun sampling its ML67Q5250 a “single-chip” solution enabling fingerprint authentication. “bioMETRX has been testing various technologies supplied to it by OKI Semiconductor, with additional engineering assistance from OKI headquarters in Japan. The engineering effort was initiated to examine whether we could reduce component and manufacturing costs of the smartTOUCH brand of finger activated consumer products,” stated Mark R. Basile, CEO of bioMETRX, Inc.  

MultiHub, a Singapore-based dormitory management company, has selected XID Technology’s facial recognition system to provide access control to the Soon Lee Dormitory.

In Singapore, dormitories are often used to house foreign workers working on construction sites. XID’s solution was selected because it contains biometric facial recognition that can serves as a deterrent to people who may attempt to illegally gain access to the facility.

XID, a Redwood City, Calif. and Singapore-based facial recognition company, has face recognition technology that functions in outdoor environments where lighting condition variations result in high error rates for traditional face recognition systems.