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For Release: December 5, 2000
Editor Contact:
Scott Wylie
Altera Corporation
(408) 544-6996
swylie@altera.com
Altera Disputes Xilinx's ITC Complaint
San Jose, Calif., December 5, 2000-Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) today provided the following statement with respect to a press release issued by Xilinx late yesterday in which it announced the filing of a patent case at the International Trade Commission (ITC) and also commented on the previously reported FLEX® 8000 jury verdict.
Xilinx's Allegations before the International Trade Commission
- Altera is in the process of reviewing Xilinx's claims before the ITC. The company has always conducted its business in a manner to insure that it does not infringe the valid patents of others.
- If the ITC does initiate an investigation later this month, this simply means that Xilinx has met the minimum procedural requirements for the ITC to consider its complaint.
- Altera believes that Xilinx's ITC complaint is a reaction to Altera's most recent patent infringement suit filed in June of this year. In this lawsuit Altera alleges that Xilinx's Virtex product line infringes three of Altera's newer patents covering the Embedded Array Block (EAB) technology pioneered by Altera and first introduced in the FLEX 10K family in 1995. This week the court is conducting the Markman hearing for this lawsuit during which the claims of Altera's patents will be interpreted by the court in preparation for trial.
Previously Reported FLEX 8000 Jury Verdict
Separate from these matters and as previously reported on November 17, 2000, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California returned a verdict in favor of Xilinx's infringement claims against the company's FLEX 8000 products.
- Altera believes the jury verdict was in error.
- Altera will file a motion with the court next week to reverse the verdict. Should the motion be denied, the company will file an appeal. Since 1995, the U.S. Court of Appeals has overturned about half of the patent infringement cases brought before it.
- Affected sales of Altera's FLEX 8000 products are estimated to be about $30 million, or about 2% of the company's total revenue for the current year. FLEX 8000 sales are expected to be flat or declining in 2001.
- Altera will contest any Xilinx motion seeking an injunction. The company noted that, even in cases where the trial court issues an injunction, the order is frequently 'stayed' pending appeal.
About Altera
Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company®, was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally written in the future tense and/or preceded by words such as "will", or describe an anticipated future event. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in the release involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation the risk that the complex and evolving nature of such legal proceedings may alter the company's legal plans and that future court or ITC rulings cannot, by their nature, be predicted with certainty. For additional information, please refer to the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, copies of which are available from the company without charge.
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