Microtune Wins Another Victory in Patent Case against Broadcom; Court Issues Injunction against Broadcom's Tuner.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers SHERMAN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2003 Court also Denies Broadcom's Motions for JMOL JMOL Judgment as a Matter of Law Microtune(R), Inc. (Nasdaq:TUNE) announced today that the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas is the Federal district court with jurisdiction over the eastern part of Texas and is a part of the Fifth Circuit. The court's headquarters are in Tyler, Texas and has five subdivision offices. , Sherman Division, has issued a preliminary injunction A temporary order made by a court at the request of one party that prevents the other party from pursuing a particular course of conduct until the conclusion of a trial on the merits. A preliminary injunction is regarded as extraordinary relief. barring Broadcom Corporation from selling, offering to sell, or importing into the United States its BCM BCM Baylor College of Medicine BCM Become BCM Business Communications Manager (Nortel) BCM Broadcom Corporation BCM Business Continuity Management BCM Business Contact Manager (Microsoft) 3415 silicon tuner and certain reference design boards containing the BCM3415. In addition, the Court ruled that Broadcom's officers, employees, agents, and "all persons in active concert or participation therewith who receive notice" of the injunction order are enjoined from infringing Microtune's patent by selling, offering for sale, or importing into the U.S. the BCM3415 tuner from Broadcom. The Court additionally noted that "products merely colorably different" from the infringing BCM3415 tuner would be deemed to fall under the injunction order. The Court's entry of this injunction arises from the March 20, 2003 jury verdict that found that Broadcom had willfully willfully adv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) infringed on Microtune's patent, U.S. Patent No. 5,737,035, for the Company's pioneering single-chip tuner technology. On April 11, 2003, the Court denied all of the Motions filed by Broadcom for JMOL (Judgment as a Matter of Law Judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) is a motion made by a party, during trial, claiming the opposing party has insufficient evidence to reasonably support its case. JMOL is similar to summary judgment, which is a motion made before trial. ). The effect of these rulings was to uphold the jury's findings of validity and enforceability of Microtune's patent, and also uphold the jury's findings that Broadcom willfully infringed that patent. "We are very pleased by the Court's actions," said Douglas J. Bartek, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Microtune. "This preliminary injunction and the Court's affirmation of our patent rights demonstrate that our U.S. patent system works. Even small, enterprising companies can protect their valued intellectual property rights against much larger competitors. The jury's finding of willful infringement is especially gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. ." Microtune's '035 patent covers the development of 'a highly integrated silicon tuner on a single microcircuit A miniaturized, electronic circuit, such as is found on an integrated circuit. See chip and MCM. .' It is a technological innovation that Microtune began developing in 1996 and launched publicly as the MicroTuner(TM) single-chip tuner in January 1999. Microtune holds another 23 U.S. patents covering tuner technology, with over 50 applications pending. Microtune was represented in the lawsuit by Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol of Austin, Texas and San Diego and Clyde Siebman of Sherman, Texas. 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, transportation electronics and wireless connectivity markets. Inventors of the MicroTuner 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 24 U.S. patents for its technology, with more than 50 applications pending approval that span its RF and wireless products, containing more than 2,000 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. EDITORS NOTE: Microtune is a registered trademark and MicroTuner a trademark of Microtune, Inc. |
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