Microtune Victorious in Markman Hearing Against Broadcom
PLANO, Texas--Aug. 22, 2002--Recent ruling strengthens Microtune's patent infringement lawsuit
Microtune(R), Inc. announced that it obtained a favorable ruling today in its patent infringement lawsuit against Broadcom Corporation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. The suit, filed in early 2001, alleges that Broadcom infringes U.S. Patent No. 5,737,035 held by Microtune. This patent covers highly integrated silicon tuners, a technological innovation that Microtune announced in 1999.
On August 22, 2002 United States District Judge Paul Brown issued a Markman claim construction decision interpreting the definition and scope of the patent claims at issue. The Markman ruling is pivotal to the determination at trial on issues of validity and infringement of patents. The Court's construction clearly confirms the legal positions Microtune has maintained since the beginning of the patent dispute.
Microtune anticipates that the court's claim construction ruling will have considerable favorable impact on its case as it proceeds toward trial in October 2002.
COURT OPINION FAVORS MICROTUNE ARGUMENTS
For example, over Broadcom's strenuous objections, the Court ruled that the definition of a television receiver, as stated in the patent, does not limit the patent to a tuner for audio and video signals as alleged by Broadcom. The implication of the ruling is that the definition of tuners covered by Microtune's patent is broad enough to encompass partially integrated tuners that provide digital data, including cable modem tuners.
Responding to the entry of the favorable Markman Order, Douglas J. Bartek, Chairman and CEO of Microtune, said, "We are pleased with the Court's ruling. The court defined nine disputed terms. Microtune prevailed in the vast majority of the definitions, and more importantly, the Court adopted Microtune's definition for all of the critical terms. It reaffirms our belief that Microtune is the true inventor of the highly integrated silicon tuner. We look forward to having the patent infringement dispute heard by a jury in the near future."
ABOUT MICROTUNE
Microtune, Inc. is a leading silicon and systems company that designs, manufactures and markets radio frequency (RF)-based solutions for the global broadband communications, automotive electronics and wireless connectivity markets. Inventors of the MicroTuner(TM) single-chip broadband tuner, the Company offers a portfolio of advanced tuner, amplifier, transceiver and wireless products that enable the delivery of information and entertainment across new classes of consumer electronics devices. The Company currently holds 15 U.S. patents for its technology, with more than 50 applications pending approval that span its RF and wireless products, containing almost 2000 supporting claims. Founded in 1996, Microtune is headquartered in Plano, Texas, with key design, manufacturing and sales centers located around the world. The web site is www.microtune.com.
Microtune is traded on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol TUNE.
MICROTUNE FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those discussing the outcome and merits of the lawsuits, that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause such statements to differ materially from actual future events or results. Such forward-looking statements are generally accompanied by words such as "plan," "estimate," "expect," "believe," "could," "would," "anticipate," "may," or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These forward-looking statements and other statements made elsewhere in this release are made in reliance on the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Factors which could cause actual results to differ include the Company's ability to successfully prosecute, defend and win the lawsuits and the ability of the Company to recover the actual costs of the litigation, any of which may cause the Company's financial results to fluctuate. Readers are referred to the reports and documents filed by Microtune with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001, Form 10Q for each quarter and Form S-3 filed on August 17, 2001, as amended.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Microtune is a registered trademark and MicroTuner is a trademark of Microtune, Inc.