Wave Systems Signs 15-year License Agreement with Samsung

Wave Systems has signed a 15-year software license and distribution agreement with Samsung, enabling Samsung to bundle Wave’s EMBASSY Security Center (ESC) and TCG Software Stack (TSS) technology with devices that include a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), an industry standard security chip embedded in the motherboard of a computer or other electronic device.

In an SEC filing, Wave said it would receive a per-unit royalty based on Samsung’s sales of products that include its technology, but did not provide estimates in terms of expected revenue derived as a result.

While the contract does not provide for guaranteed minimum or maximum shipped quantities or royalties, the long-term deal with the electronics giant is a big win for the Massachusetts-based security firm. “Samsung is a significant market maker and technology category leader,” Brian Berger, EVP Marketing & Sales at Wave Systems told SecurityWeek. “For Wave to have been selected and qualified to have a 15-year agreement is a very important message to the market of Wave’s value to the computing ecosystem.”

In terms of Samsung products that could benefit from Wave’s technology, Trusted Platform Modules can be used in device types including mobile, consumer electronic products such as Set-top-boxes and printers, and other applicable products. Personal computers are the first and biggest market currently, as government requirements are starting to require higher levels of security including hardware-level protections such as TPM and encryption.

Wave Systems’ EMBASSY Security Center delivers advanced levels of security to the client PC using the TPM security chip found on most enterprise PCs today. ESC offers a variety of secure business productivity benefits including self-encrypting drive management, and is compatible with all TCG-Compliant hardware platforms. 

Wave’s software will be bundled with devices manufactured by Samsung within the 2012 calendar year, Berger said.