There are a number of different patents related to Terfenol that are currently in force. Part of the confusion relating to these patents is that there are a number of different patent types. In layman's terms, these are:

• Composition of Matter covers a specific range of chemical compositions for a given material. An example is the Coca-Cola formula.
• Process covers the specific processes used to alloy, order, and shape the material. Does not cover the chemical nature of the material, but rather the specific manufacturing conditions, methods, and equipment used in making the material.
• Device covers a specific device or family of devices based on an assembly of components.

The use of the art described in one type of patent may still infringe on another of a different type. For example, manufacture of an alloy by a process that isn't covered in a Process patent could still be an infringement if the alloy composition is covered by an existing Composition of Matter Patent or if the end product is already covered in a Device patent.

Thus, it is imperative that anyone who wishes to use Terfenol in some way must have a license to all of the applicable patents for their application. Often this is as simple as purchasing the material or device from a licensee, which in turn grants the buyer a non-exclusive, royalty-free bearing license. Please refer to the Legitimate Producers and Sanctioned Distributors sections for more information.

The following table is a general list of the current major US patents by type and their assignees/licensees. Most of these patents have foreign filings world-wide. This list is not exhaustive - all potential users should perform a basic patent search to determine potential infringements on a case-by-case basis. This is especially true in the case of Device patents, which is currently the most active in terms of new filings.

Composition of Matter US Patent No. Title Assignee Licensee 5,110,376 Super-Magnetostrictive Alloy Toshiba 5,223,046 Super-Magnetostrictive Alloy Toshiba 6,273,965 Magnetostrictive Materials and Method for Improving AC Characteristics in Same Iowa State University Research Foundation ETREMA Products, Inc. 6,273,966 High Performance Rare Earth-Transition Metal Magnetostrictive Materials ETREMA Products, Inc.

Process US Patent No. Title Assignee Licensee 4,609,402 Methods of Forming Magnetostrictive Rods from Rare Earth-Iron Alloys Iowa State University Research Foundation ETREMA Products, Inc. 4,770,704 Continuous Method for Manufacturing Grain-Oriented Magnetostrictive Bodies Iowa State University Research Foundation ETREMA Products, Inc. 4,818,304 Method of Increasing Magnetostrictive Response of Rare Earth-Iron Alloy Rods Iowa State University Research Foundation ETREMA Products, Inc. 4,849,034 Thermal Treatment for Increasing Magnetostrictive Response of Rare Earth-Iron Alloy Rods Iowa State University Research Foundation ETREMA Products, Inc. 5,067,551 Method for Manufacturing Alloy Rod Having Giant Magnetostriction NKK 5,336,337 Magnetostrictive Materials and Methods of Making Such Materials Toshiba 5,529,745 Preparation of Magnetostrictive Material TDK Corporation

Device US Patent No. Title Assignee Licensee 4,927,334 Liquid Pump Driven by Elements of a Ginat Magnetostrictive Material ABB 5,931,452 Wire Clamper for Bonding Apparatus Tosok Corporation, Moritex Corporation, ETREMA Products, Inc. 6,012,521 Downhole Pressure wave Generator and Method for Use Thereof ETREMA Products, Inc. 6,037,682 Integrated Multi-mode Transducer and Method ETREMA Products, Inc. 6,230,799 Ultrasonic Downhole Radiator and Method for Using Same ETREMA Products, Inc.

Legitimate Producers ETREMA Products, Inc. 2500 N. Loop Drive Ames, Iowa 50010 USA 515-296-8030 515-268-4540 ref# 898 FAX customer.service@etrema-usa.com TDK Magnetic Materials Group Japan

Sanctioned Distributors UNITED KINGDOM Marlborough Communications Ltd. Dovenby Hall Balcombe Road Horley Surrey RH6 9UU England Adrian Patrick 44-(0) 1293-775071 44-(0) 1293-820781 FAX marlborough.coms@virgin.net SWEDEN ProEngCo AB Solbjersvagen 4 224 66 Lund Sweden Thomas Rundquist 46-46-189008 46-46-189009 FAX tord.cedell@proengco.se JAPAN Moritex Corporation 3-1-14 Jingu-Mae Shibuya-ka Tokyo 150 Japan Yuhkoh Morito 03-0401-9736 03-3401-9776 FAX ym0367@moritex.co.jp MONACO Tact Technology 7, Av Saint Roman MC-98000 Monaco Carl Tyren 377 9325 3303 377 9325 7003 FAX ctyren@monaco.mc AUSTRALIA Innovative Ultrasonics Pty. Ltd. 41, Wavecrest Dr., Castawasys Beach PO Box 321 Noosaville Queensland 4573 Australia Darren Bates 61-754475561 Phone & FAX drdarrenbates@bigpond.com