Judge interprets ARM's patent claims

Judge interprets ARM's patent claims
By EE Times
June 22, 2001 (7:43 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20010622S0100

SAN MATEO, Calif. — A U.S. District Court judge recently ruled on the definitions of microprocessor patent claims made by ARM Ltd. as part of the company's litigation against rival PicoTurbo Inc.

At issue are seven patents, four covering hardware that allow different instruction set bit widths, two that cover exceptions and one that describes a multiplier-accumulator.

Following the preliminary "Markman" hearing held April 6, Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., interpreted the terms and phrases of claims made in the ARM patents that the two companies had disputed. The judge did not rule on the validity of the patents.

In a story posted on our Web site Wednesday (June 20), we incorrectly reported that Judge Wilken threw out ARM's patent claims against PicoTurbo Inc. We regret the error.