ARM announced it has significantly expanded its patent infringement lawsuit against picoTurbo, Inc.

CAMBRIDGE, UK -- June 23, 2000 ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq:ARMHY)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions, today announced it has significantly expanded its patent infringement lawsuit against picoTurbo, Inc.

 
ARM has amended its complaint to cover picoTurbo's pT120 product, as well as the pT100 and pT110 products that were covered in the original complaint. Four new patents have been added to the lawsuit, bringing the total number of U.S. patents that picoTurbo is accused of infringing to seven.

ARM also added claims to the complaint stating that picoTurbo engaged in unfair competition and false advertising. ARM asserts that recent public statements made by picoTurbo regarding the capabilities of the pT120, pT100 and pT110 products were false and misleading.

"ARM has developed its reputation for excellence and reliability by providing not only unique microprocessor designs, but also by providing the comprehensive support required to develop complete ARM Powered[tm] systems and applications," said Reynette Au, vice president of Marketing, ARM. "ARM welcomes competition as long as it is fair, does not infringe the intellectual property of ARM or any other company, and does not mislead the market."

"With the success that ARM's designs have achieved, it is not surprising that another supplier might develop technology that attempted to mimic the ARM technology. However, these suppliers will always be one step behind - and in today's fast-paced market, if a customer falls one step behind the competition, they may miss an entire product cycle, or even an opportunity to establish themselves as an industry leader," added Au.

"Patent infringement is not about making an exact copy," said David MacKay, general counsel, ARM. "Any design that falls within any of ARM's patent claims violates our intellectual property rights, even if this design is derived independently, such as in a clean room environment."

ARM works closely with its licensees to ensure strict compliance with ARM's standards of quality in all products based on ARM microprocessor cores. ARM holds more than 60 U.S. patents in the area of RISC microprocessors and related equipment and methods.

ARM, a leading intellectual property (IP) provider, licenses high-performance, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals, and system-chip designs to leading international electronics companies. ARM also provides comprehensive support required in developing a complete system. ARM's microprocessor cores are rapidly becoming the volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, hand-held computing, multimedia digital consumer and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com
 

- ends -

ARM, Thumb, and the ARM Powered logo are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM7, ARM7TDMI and ARM Powered are trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and NASDAQ: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM, INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.