Micron Technology, Inc., Brings Lawsuit Against Rambus in Italy

BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 23, 2006 – Micron Technology, Inc., (NYSE: MU) today announced that it has brought a new lawsuit against Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) in the Court of Milan, Italy. In the suit, Micron and its Italian subsidiary, Micron Technology Italia, S.r.l., seek more than $30 million in damages and interest relating to a preliminary patent infringement action initiated by Rambus in September 2000.

Micron’s complaint alleges that Rambus wrongfully obtained an order to seize certain materials from a Micron facility in Avezzano, Italy, while knowing that the Court of Monza, Italy, lacked jurisdiction over Micron. The complaint further alleges that the Court of Monza granted the order, at least in part, in reliance on Rambus misrepresentations, and that Rambus enforced the seizure order in bad faith causing injury to Micron.

“We believe that Rambus abused the legal process, and that Micron is entitled to recover damages caused by Rambus’ actions in Italy,” said Rod Lewis, Micron’s Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel.

The Monza judge ultimately held on the merits that Micron’s memory products did not infringe the Rambus patent. The European Patent Office later invalidated and revoked the Rambus patent at issue in the Italy proceeding, and has preliminarily revoked two other Rambus patents on the basis that Rambus improperly attempted to expand the claims of the patents. Separately, a court in London, England, dismissed Rambus’ patent infringement suit after the European Patent Office revoked the patent, and the court recently awarded Micron costs.

Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets DRAMs, NAND flash memory, CMOS image sensors, other semiconductor components, and memory modules for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and mobile products. Micron's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com.