PTO Concludes Reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 4,814,976 By Finding All Claims Patentable
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 27, 2002 -- MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MIPS, MIPSB), a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and network applications, is pleased to report that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has completed its reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 4,814,976 (‘976 Patent) and confirmed the patentability of all 14 claims contained in the patent. This final decision by the PTO, together with the favorable ruling regarding claim interpretation issued last September by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California concerning the ‘976 Patent (see Sept. 18 press release), further strengthens MIPS Technologies’ position regarding the validity and scope of protection of this patent.
The ‘976 Patent covers systems and methods for handling unaligned memory references. This coverage includes a set of unaligned load and store instructions that are fundamental to every MIPS® instruction set architecture. A total of three reexamination requests were filed with the PTO against this patent by a third party between December 2000 and August 2001 in repeated attempts to invalidate or otherwise limit the scope of its claims. The PTO, however, rejected these attempts, as evidenced by its final decision.
“Having successfully withstood the scrutiny of repeated reexamination requests, the ‘976 Patent is a proven element of our ever-expanding portfolio of patents around the world,†said Sandy Creighton, vice president and general counsel at MIPS Technologies. “We are gratified by the PTO’s decision, which fully validates the position we have held since the beginning of this action.â€
About MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and network applications. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC developers and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies and its licensees offer the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom, semi-custom and application-specific products. The company is based in Mountain View, Calif., and can be reached at +1 (650) 567-5000 or www.mips.com.
Media Contact:
Lee Garvin Flanagin
MIPS Technologies, Inc.
+1 (650) 567-5180
flanagin@mips.com