German Patent Court Rules against Cadence; Revokes European Patent.

Business/High-Tech Editors

MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2001

The German Federal Patent Court ruled on February 20th that the Cadence Quickturn division's (NYSE:CDN) European patent No. 0437491 is revoked in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Additionally, Cadence was ordered to bear the plaintiff's legal costs, according to procedures set forth by German law. The plaintiff in this action was Avant! Corporation (Nasdaq:AVNT). The court ruled from the bench, with a full written opinion expected in the next several weeks.

European patent No. 0437491, also known as the Butts patent, covered certain designs using interconnected programmable devices. The patent had previously been the subject of a patent infringement lawsuit against Mentor Graphics in Germany for its first generation SimExpress emulators.

"We are pleased that the court has revoked this patent, and believe that this ruling has important implications to our litigation against Cadence," said Dean Freed, general counsel of Mentor Graphics. "The German court is widely respected and we believe that this ruling will carry significant weight in other jurisdictions examining this issue."

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products and consulting services for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of nearly $600 million and employs approximately 2,750 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.