PEABODY, Mass. and CANNES, France, February 23, 2004 - ScanSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSFT), the leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions, today announced that it has filed a patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation lawsuit against Voice Signal Technologies, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

In its complaint, ScanSoft states that Voice Signal Technologies, Inc. infringes a ScanSoft patent that covers voice-activated dialing for mobile telephones and has misappropriated ScanSoft confidential information and trade secrets in the field of speech recognition and related technologies. In the patent infringement claim, ScanSoft seeks monetary damages for past infringement and injunctive relief to prevent Voice Signal from continuing to infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,501,966 "Speech Recognition System for Electronic Switches in a Non-Wireline Communications Network."

In the trade secret misappropriation claim, ScanSoft states that Voice Signal has misappropriated and uses ScanSoft confidential information and trade secrets in the field of speech recognition and related technologies, which ScanSoft acquired when it purchased certain assets from Lernout and Hauspie in 2001. This trade secret information includes speech and natural language information and technologies that provide ScanSoft with competitive advantages in the market for embedded speech products.

"ScanSoft has invested heavily in developing technologies and acquiring intellectual property that are critical to the success of our business," said Jo-Anne Sinclair, vice president and general counsel, ScanSoft. "These specific patents and trade secrets are proprietary and offer distinct applications for mobile devices that differentiate our solutions from competitive offerings. ScanSoft values its intellectual property and intends to assert its patents and other proprietary rights to protect its technology and prevent infringing use by others."

ScanSoft, Inc. holds more than 425 patents in the fields of speech and imaging technologies and has made significant investments in research, development and the acquisition of intellectual property to provide its customers with unique, best-of-breed solutions. The company will continue to drive innovation through the patenting of proprietary technologies.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

ScanSoft, Inc. is the leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions that automate a wide range of manual processes - saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service. For more information regarding ScanSoft products and technologies, please visit www.scansoft.com.

ScanSoft and the ScanSoft logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of ScanSoft, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other company or product names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement

The foregoing contains "forward-looking statements" which are based on management's beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made by and information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside ScanSoft's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please see ScanSoft's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ScanSoft disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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