PITNEY BOWES AND CERTICOM ENTER JOINT RESEARCH VENTURE

Mailing Technology Giant and Cryptography Leader Collaborate to Develop Next Generation Information Security Solutions

STAMFORD, Conn. and HAYWARD, Calif., July 11, 2000 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) and Certicom Corp. (NASDAQ: CERT and TSE: CIC) today announced they have entered into a strategic research and development agreement to develop information security solutions using advanced Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) technology for the mailing, messaging and shipping industries - including applications of data processing, accounting or management of funds, postage evidencing and value printing systems for on-line tax and ticket payment verification.

The research will be conducted by a team comprised of senior technology staff members from both organizations who will collaborate on focused areas of research and development to capitalize on the technical competencies of each company. The resulting technology is expected to have valuable applications in a broad range of secure communications and financial transactions, especially e-commerce applications. Under the agreement, Pitney Bowes will have the ability to use the jointly developed technology throughout its mailing, messaging, shipping and document creation/management businesses. Where appropriate, the companies plan to deploy the technology in commercial applications that will add value to their customers' critical processes.

"Pitney Bowes has experience and advanced understanding of public-key cryptography and we are very excited to team with Certicom, the recognized leader in Elliptic Curve Cryptography, to develop the next level of information security solutions," said Joseph E. Wall, vice president and chief technology officer at Pitney Bowes. "We plan to incorporate the resulting technology in our offerings to make today's most advanced mail and messaging systems in the world even more secure."

Pitney Bowes has a long history of developing innovative technology and for the past 14 years has been ranked in the Top 200 companies worldwide receiving U.S. patents. Pitney Bowes' patent portfolio includes more than 3,300 active patents worldwide as a result of its consistent investment and commitment to research and development. Pitney Bowes' wealth of intellectual assets cover a range of technologies and business applications that are key in the new economy such as ticketing, cellular telephones, shipping, laser printing, encryption and mailing to name a few.

"This is another example of Certicom's technology being applied to the unique requirements of a vertical market," said Rick Dalmazzi, Certicom president and CEO. "We're pleased to be working with Pitney Bowes, the undisputed industry leader in mailing systems, to promote our new and existing technologies worldwide."

"Intellectual property is the cornerstone of innovation in today's economy," said Michael J. Critelli, chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes. "Part of our growth strategy is to leverage our broad range of technological assets aggressively through direct development and delivery of innovative products and services, formation of strategic alliances or joint ventures using our intellectual property as a significant portion of our investment, and by licensing our technology to others who are interested in participating in markets which use the technology."

About Certicom
Certicom is an encryption technology company specializing in security solutions for mobile computing and wireless data markets, including m-commerce. Major computing and communications companies such as Palm Inc., BellSouth Wireless Data, Motorola, Pitney Bowes, and QUALCOMM incorporate Certicom's technology into electronic commerce software, wireless messaging applications, and smart cards. Certicom is a leading source for a complete range of OEM security products and services, including cryptographic toolkits, custom implementations, and security integration services and consulting. Certicom's worldwide sales and marketing operations are based in Hayward, California, with cryptographic research and product development in Toronto, Canada. For more information, visit Certicom's Web site at http://www.certicom.com.

About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.4 billion global provider of informed mail and messaging management. It serves 118 countries through dealer and direct operations. For more information about the company, visit http://www.pitneybowes.com.

Certicom is a trademark of Certicom Corp. All other companies and products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Except for historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, those relating to the acceptance of mobile and wireless devices and the continued growth of e-commerce and m-commerce (mobile e-commerce), the increase of the demand for mutual authentication in m-commerce transactions, the acceptance of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) technology as an industry standard, the market acceptance of our principle products and sales of our customer's products, the impact of competitive products and technologies, the possibility of our products infringing patents and other intellectual property of third parties, and costs of product development. Certicom will not update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Certicom's financial results is included in the documents Certicom files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities including Certicom's Registration Statement on Form F-10.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors including timely development and acceptance of new products, gaining product approval, successful entry into new markets, changes in interest rates, and changes in postal regulations, as more fully outlined in Pitney Bowes' 1999 Form 10-K Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For further information, please contact:

Certicom contact:

Lorraine Kauffman Jessica Johannes
Public Relations Lutchansky Communications for Certicom 
Certicom Corp. (408) 938-9050 x 15
(510) 780-5417 jessica@lcomm.com
lkauffman@certicom.com 
 


Pitney Bowes contact:
Dan Burris
Manager, Media Relations
Pitney Bowes
(203) 351-6477