Soitec files for declaratory relief in U.S. Court against MEMC

Bernin, France, November 22, 2005 - Soitec, the world’s leading supplier of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and other engineered substrates for the semiconductor industry, today announced it has filed for declaratory relief in the U.S. District Court of Delaware in response to allegations of patent infringement made by MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. In a complaint filed on November 21, 2005, Soitec stipulates that it does not infringe on any of MEMC’s patents involving the production and use of so-called ‘COP-free silicon’, in the fabrication of SOI wafers, and that in addition, these patents are not valid under U.S. law.

André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, Soitec's CEO, said: “We offered to discuss our position with MEMC but they replied that they did not want to debate these issues with us. In the face of their allegations and threats, we had no choice but to ask the Court to intervene. We are confident that the Court will sustain our position.”