AMD and Alliance Semiconductor Settle Patent Lawsuit.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 2000 AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AMD) and Alliance Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq:ALSC ALSC Association for Library Service to Children ALSC Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation ALSC Afloat Logistics and Sealift Capability ALSC American Lumber Standards Committee, Inc. ALSC Advanced Logistics Systems Center (AFMC) ) today announced the settlement of AMD's patent infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. lawsuit against Alliance. AMD filed the case in 1996, asserting that Alliance's Flash memory devices infringed two AMD Flash memory patents. Under terms of the settlement, both Alliance and AMD will drop their claims and counterclaims against each other and Alliance will pay AMD an undisclosed sum for past damages. AMD and Alliance will enter into a royalty bearing license agreement for future sales of two existing Flash memory products. Also as part of the settlement, the two companies have submitted to the San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. District Court a consent judgment that finds the two AMD patents are both valid and enforceable and that certain Alliance Flash memory devices infringed AMD's patents. In the wake of the settlement, AMD and Alliance will discuss future joint projects that could take advantage of AMD's strength in the Flash memory market, and Alliance's strength in the SRAM See static RAM. SRAM - static random-access memory market. The two disputed patents are United States Patents Nos. 5,077,691 (relating to AMD's negative gate erase technology, issued Dec. 1991) and 5,126,808 (relating to AMD's sector architecture, issued June 1992). Both are fundamental patents that were the result of AMD's early innovations in Flash memory technology and represent critical technologies required to produce competitive products in the Flash memory market today. "This judgment clearly recognizes the importance and validity of AMD's intellectual property," said Walid Maghribi, group vice president of AMD's Memory Group. "We will continue to enforce and vigorously protect our valuable patent portfolio and we are extremely pleased that our patents have withstood an extensive legal challenge." "I am pleased that AMD and Alliance have been able to reverse the tide from a legal battle to a potential partnership where we can both benefit from each other's strengths," said Dr. Ritu Shrivastava, vice president of technology development and general manager of Flash Products for Alliance Semiconductor. "Alliance is a leading supplier of memory products, and is one of the few companies in the world with expertise in all three major CMOS memory segments: SRAMs, DRAMs and Flash. Our resources and energies are much better spent creating new products and markets which leverage our expertise. We do not believe that the settlement will have substantial impact on our Flash product development strategy or the financial performance of our company." About the Technology AMD's '691 patent is a pioneering patent covering circuits and methods for erasing Flash memory cells that enable Flash memory devices to operate from only one power supply. Using this invention it became possible to make Flash memory devices which operate with a single externally supplied voltage. Prior to AMD's invention, it was necessary to supply two different voltages to separate pins on a Flash memory device. AMD's '808 patent relates to a flash memory architecture that enables the sectors (or pages) in a Flash memory device to be addressed (programmed, read or erased) without affecting the other sectors. About AMD Flash Memory Devices AMD technology is employed by the world's largest producer of Flash memory devices, Fujitsu AMD Semiconductor Ltd. (FASL FASL Feet Above Sea Level FASL Fujitsu Amd Semiconductor Limited FASL Fellow, Academic Society of London ). AMD Flash memory products encompass a broad spectrum of densities and features to support a wide range of markets. AMD Flash memory customers represent leaders in the automotive, networking, telecommunications, and handheld mobile terminal markets. AMD offers many Flash memory products, such as the award-winning Simultaneous Read-Write (SRW SRW Super Robot Wars (video games) SRW Single Rear Wheel (truck) SRW Segmental Retaining Wall SRW Soldier Radio Waveform SRW Strategic Reconnaissance Wing SRW Search and Retrieve via the Web ) product family; Super Low Voltage 1.8V Flash memory devices; and Burst- and Page-Mode devices. AMD developed the robust Known Good Die (KGD KGD Known Good Die (semiconductor industry) KGD Kaliningrad, Russia - Kaliningrad Airport (Airport Code) KGD King's Gambit Declined (chess) KGD Komitee Für Grundrechte Und Demokratie ) program and the patented negative gate erase technology, and refined the industry-standard Fine-pitch Ball Grid Array “BGA” redirects here. For other uses, see BGA (disambiguation). A ball grid array (BGA) is a type of surface-mount packaging used for integrated circuits. (FBGA FBGA Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array FBGA Fine Pitch Bga FBGA Fine Line Bga ). All AMD Flash memory devices are guaranteed for a minimum of one million write cycles per sector and 20 years' data retention, making them the most reliable non-volatile memory devices in the industry. About AMD AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets. AMD produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and integrated circuits for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $2.9 billion in 1999. (NYSE:AMD). About Alliance Corporation Alliance Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq:ALSC) is a leading worldwide supplier of high performance memory and memory intensive logic products. Alliance's product lines include Static Random Access memory Static random access memory (SRAM) is a type of semiconductor memory. The word "static" indicates that the memory retains its contents as long as power remains applied, unlike dynamic RAM (DRAM) that needs to be periodically refreshed (nevertheless, SRAM should not be confused with (SRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. Since real capacitors leak charge, the information eventually fades unless the capacitor charge is refreshed periodically. (DRAM), Flash memory and embedded memory and logic products. Alliance designs, develops and markets its products to the desktop and portable computing, networking, telecommunication, instrumentation, and consumer markets. Alliance manufactures its products through independent joint venture manufacturing facilities, using advanced CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. process technologies with line widths as narrow as 0.18 microns. Alliance was founded in 1985. Additional company information can be found at: www.alsc.com. Note to Editors: AMD is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. |
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