PEABODY, Mass., October 21, 2002 - ScanSoft, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSFT) today announced it has filed a registration statement in connection with a proposed underwritten public offering of 7,034,406 shares of its Common Stock. 6,034,406 of the shares are being offered by Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. and L&H Holdings USA, Inc. (collectively, "L&H"), and 1,000,000 of the shares are being offered by the Company. The Company has also granted the underwriters an option, solely to cover over-allotments, to purchase an additional 1,050,000 shares. Following the completion of this offering, L&H will no longer hold any shares of the Company's Common Stock.

The underwritten offering will be led by Thomas Weisel Partners LLC and co-managed by Adams, Harkness & Hill, Inc., C.E. Unterberg, Towbin and Investec Inc. When available, copies of the prospectus for the underwritten offering may be obtained by mail from Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, One Montgomery Street, Suite 3700, San Francisco, CA 94104, or by calling 415-364-2500.

In addition, in a separate registration statement, the Company proposes to register 9,000,000 outstanding shares of its Common Stock on behalf of three other stockholders. These shares will not be included in the proposed underwritten public offering and are being registered pursuant to registration rights agreements previously entered into by the Company.

Registration statements relating to these securities have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but have not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the respective registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state.

About ScanSoft, Inc.

Scansoft, Inc. is a leading supplier of imaging, speech and language solutions that are used to automate a wide range of manual processes - saving time, increasing worker productivity and improving customer service.

Trademark reference: 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 may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based on ScanSoft's current expectations and estimates as to prospective events and circumstances that may or may not be in ScanSoft's control and as to which there can be no firm assurances given. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties; there can be no assurance that any of these forward-looking statements may prove to be correct and actual results may differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks related to the company's ability to complete the underwritten public offering and the resale registration, and other risks detailed from time to time in ScanSoft's SEC reports. ScanSoft disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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