Cree Announces Patent License Agreement with Ledvance

Ledvance joins growing group of Cree Licensees

DURHAM, N.C. -- Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) today announced that it signed a cross license agreement with Ledvance, Inc. under which Cree will receive ongoing royalty payments and a royalty-free license to Ledvance’s patent portfolio. In exchange, Ledvance will receive a license to Cree’s extensive portfolio of patents related to LED light bulbs and LED luminaires. The licensed patents address various aspects of forming an LED light including optics, heat management, LED power and control, LED light efficiency and light color and uniformity. Certain Cree patents that cover Cree’s networked lighting technology (SmartCast) and color mixing technology (TrueWhite) were excluded from the license.

“With intellectual property developed over the past 29 years, Cree has a deep portfolio of technologies that are elemental to the design and manufacture of high-performing LED bulbs and LED luminaires,” stated Brad Kohn, vice president legal and general counsel for Cree. “This recent licensing agreement with Ledvance is yet another example that demonstrates the value of Cree’s R&D investments, as well as the breadth and strength of Cree’s lighting technologies.”

About Cree, Inc.
Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, lighting products and semiconductor products for power and radio frequency (RF) applications. Cree’s product families include LED lighting systems and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree’s products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and inverters.

For additional product and Company information, please refer to www.cree.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including uncertain demand for Ledvance products using the licensed technology; and other factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 26, 2016, and subsequent reports filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements represent Cree's judgment as of the date of this release. Except as required under the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, Cree disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, developments, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

Cree^® is a registered trademark of Cree, Inc.