Clear Logic Denies Altera Allegations.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 18, 1999--

Clear Logic announced today its opinion that a lawsuit filed by Altera Corporation confirms the commercial success of Clear Logic products. Clear Logic, a fabless semiconductor manufacturer supplying low cost ASIC replacements for PLDs and FPGAs, also rejected, as totally unfounded, and completely frivolous, allegations in the lawsuit filed by Altera. The lawsuit alleges that Clear Logic has violated laws relating to Altera's intellectual property and Altera's relationships with its customers.

Clear Logic's president and CEO Al Huggins said, "By this lawsuit, Altera has acknowledged the rapidly growing popularity of the Clear Logic solution with Altera's major customers. In fact, the lawsuit itself provides confirmation of the ease-of-use and compatibility of Clear Logic products."

In the filing, Altera states that "Altera has suffered and/or will continue to suffer reduced sales and/or lost profits" and that "Altera has been damaged and has suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable loss and injury," as a result of Clear Logic's market entry. Clear Logic acknowledges rapid customer adoption of its products since they were first made available only last year.

Altera's documents acknowledge Clear Logic's claims that using Clear Logic's devices is "simply a matter of removing the Altera device from the printed circuit board and replacing it with one from Clear Logic." Altera also cites Clear Logic's ability to provide second source Altera replacement parts to customers within two weeks.

Clear Logic participates in the FPGA-to-ASIC conversion market as a lawful, legitimate ASIC supplier. Huggins added "This suit demonstrates that Altera is afraid of competition and recognizes Clear Logic to be a serious threat. Clear Logic's proprietary technology offers pin-compatible devices as a second source to Altera products at a much lower price. Providing second source products at a lower cost using advanced technology is a classic path to success that benefits both the innovators and customers. Of course entrenched competitors with huge investments in old technologies look to the courts to protect them from competition."

The Company will vigorously contest what it believes to be these invalid allegations and expects to be vindicated.

Clear Logic, Inc. was founded in 1996 to offer a no-NRE, quick turn-around cost reduction path for designs that have been implemented using programmable logic products. The company employs proprietary software that converts the bitstream from an Altera design to a laser-configured device. Clear Logic has no NRE charges or minimum order sizes. Called Laser-Processed Logic Devices or LPLDs, Clear Logic devices are comparable to pre-programmed CPLDs, with comparable delivery lead-times. They arrive at the customer's site fully pre-configured and ready to plug in the socket. Clear Logic LPLD devices are guaranteed to function identically to their programmable counterparts.

Integrated Device Technology, Inc. is a major investor in Clear Logic.