Magma Files Additional Request for Re-Examination of Synopsys Patent.Further Prior Art Uncovered - Published Six Years Before Synopsys' Application SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Magma[R] Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA) announced today it has filed a second request for re-examination of U.S. Patent Number 6,378,114 (the '114 patent), one of three patents at issue in a case filed against the company by Synopsys Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS SNPS Space Nuclear Power System ). Magma's first request for re-examination of the '114 patent resulted in a finding that the request raised a substantial new question of patentability and a subsequent rejection of the patent's 15 claims by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO PTO abbr. 1. Parent Teacher Organization 2. or p.t.o. please turn over 3. power takeoff PTO or pto please turn over Noun 1. ). This new re-examination request is based upon prior art not previously cited to the PTO and adds further uncertainty as to the validity of the Synopsys patent. The additional prior art includes the Ph.D. dissertation of Massoud Pedram, published by the University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. Commonly referred to as UC Berkeley, Berkeley and Cal in 1991 - six years before Synopsys filed its application for the '114 patent. The new re-examination request asserts that Pedram's dissertation describes the subject matter of all 15 claims of the '114 patent and thus invalidates all claims. The '114 patent is one of three patents at issue in the companies' patent litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, and re-examination has been requested for all three patents. The PTO announced in November that it will re-examine re·ex·am·ine also re-ex·am·ine tr.v. re·ex·am·ined, re·ex·am·in·ing, re·ex·am·ines 1. To examine again or anew; review. 2. Law To question (a witness) again after cross-examination. U.S. Patent No. 6,725,438 (the '438 patent), and the PTO will determine by Feb. 10, 2007 whether to re-examine the third patent, U.S. Patent Number 6,453,446 (the '446 patent). Filings, court orders and other documents relevant to these matters are available on the Magma website at www.magma-da.com/PatentLitigation.html. About Magma Magma's software for integrated circuit (IC) design is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology. The world's top chip companies use Magma's EDA (1) (Electronic Design Automation) Using the computer to design, lay out, verify and simulate the performance of electronic circuits on a chip or printed circuit board. software to design and verify complex, high-performance ICs for communications, computing, consumer electronics and networking applications, while at the same time reducing design time and costs. Magma provides software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification Physical verification A procedure auditors use to ensure that inventory recorded in the book is correct by actually checking out the physical inventory. , characterization and programmable logic design, and the company's integrated RTL-to-GDSII design flow offers "The Fastest Path from RTL (Register Transfer Level) A high-level hardware description language (HDL) for defining digital circuits. The circuits are described as a collection of registers, Boolean equations, control logic such as "if-then-else" statements as well as complex event sequences; to Silicon"[TM]. Magma is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation Magma Design Automation (NASDAQ: LAVA) is a software company in the electronic design automation (EDA) industry. The company was founded in 1997 and maintains headquarters in San Jose, California. on the Web at www.magma-da.com. Magma is a registered trademark and "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon" is a trademark of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective companies. Forward-looking statements: Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks inherent in litigation. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Magma undertakes no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements. |
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