Key Information in Litigation against Semiconductor Industry Uncovered by Article One Partners Community

Patent Study Results: Rambus has Valid Claims; LSI's Patent in the ITC is Invalid; and LSI Faces Valid Patents Asserted by National Semiconductors

NEW YORK, March 11, 2009 -- Article One Partners, LLC today announced the conclusion of several high profile semiconductor industry Patent Studies. A key Study concludes that a broad and important patent asserted by LSI is invalid. Two equally important and far-ranging Studies conclude in favor of key patents held by Rambus Inc. and by National Semiconductor Corporation.

Article One Partners, joined by an independent law firm, provides prior art evidence of invalidity related to far reaching patent assertion by LSI Corporation. LSI's patent assertion is industry wide - in the U.S. International Trade Commission, it has sought to block importation by 20 defendants, including National Semiconductor Corporation (NSM). LSI describes its patent as "widely licensed" and covering "a wide array of products" such as cell phones, DRAM, SDRAM, computers, digital cameras etc.

Conversely, the validity of several patents asserted by Rambus in long running litigation have now been strengthened by the extensive number of Article One Partners Advisors who have vetted the Rambus patents. In a third Patent Study, the Article One community researched a patent litigation against LSI (and Agere Systems, Inc.) brought by NSM response to LSI's ITC complaint. NSM presented that its patents cover LSI's Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Read channels and Storage Interface Products (SAS), among others. Based on its analysis of the prior art evidence obtained, Article One concludes that these patents owned by NSM are valid.

Article One announces the following opinions:

• STUDY RESULTS: VALID. Rambus Inc. has claimed patent infringement of semiconductor memory devices against Samsung, Hynix, Nanya and Micron involving DDR2, SDRAM and SRAM products. While Article One Advisors from the U.S. to France found highly-relevant new prior art to some of the claims, they do not invalidate the portfolio. Therefore, in the opinion of Article One, the patent portfolio has valid claims, strengthened by global peer review of patent validity. Multiple strengthened claims have not been invalidated in reexamination. (Patent Study focused upon 12 claims from 10 U.S. patents, detailed at www.articleonepartners.com).
  • Defendants & Companies Impacted - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.; Hynix Semiconductor Inc.; Micron Technology, Inc.; Nanya Technology Corporation.

• STUDY RESULTS: INVALID. LSI Corporation claimed patent infringement by National Semiconductor and 19 other current defendants related to the use of tungsten metal in semiconductor chips at the U.S. International Trade Commission. In the opinion of Article One, as verified by an independent law firm, Article One's Advisors uncovered new prior art evidence that invalidates LSI's patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,227,335). The evidence, a 1982 conference paper and a U.S. patent, results in a $50,000 reward paid to winning Advisors. The 1982 conference paper was submitted by two different Advisors, with the first submitter being the winning Advisor.
  • Defendants & Companies Impacted - National Semiconductor Corporation; United Microelectronics Corporation; Integrated Device Technology, Inc.; Cypress Semiconductor Corporation; Magnachip Semiconductor; Microchip Technology Inc.; Nanya Technology Corporation; Spansion, Inc.; STMicroelectronics NV; and others.

• STUDY RESULTS: VALID. National Semiconductor Corporation asserted patent infringement litigation against LSI and Agere Systems related to four U.S. patents (details on Article One website). NSM in the complaint identified examples of LSI products potentially covered by the patents as the Brasica products, Digital Signal Processors, HDD Reach Channels, Storage Interface Products, USB and fire wall products. Based on the response of the Article One community, Article One opines that the validity of the patents is strengthened. Where the court upholds the validity of the NSM patents, then one defense that LSI can assert, that the patents are invalid, is eliminated. LSI then has to rely on non-infringement.
  • Defendants & Companies Impacted - LSI Corporation, Agere Systems, Inc. and Best Buy Co Inc.

"Innovation in the semiconductor industry has been held up by litigation surrounding the Rambus, LSI and National Semiconductor cases, with dozens of companies waiting for judgment to fall in these court cases," said Cheryl Milone, founder of Article One Partners. "Citizen's review of these key patents in the semiconductor industry has strengthened what we've found to be true innovation, while helping to invalidate an overly-broad patent that should not have been granted regarding the use of tungsten in semiconductor chips."

Importantly, only a U.S. federal court or the U.S. Patent Office can invalidate a U.S. patent. Article One is announcing only its own opinion based on its analysis of the prior art for purposes of determining winners to its Patent Studies. A court or the Patent Office may disagree with Article One's opinion. The prior art is listed in the announcement of the winning Patent Study and may be viewed on Article One's website.

License Access to Rambus or LSI Study Collections of Relevant Prior Art

There were highly relevant prior art references submitted in these studies. Parties interested in licensing access to the collection of relevant prior art should contact Article One directly.

About Article One Partners

Article One Partners is a global online community working to legitimize the validity of patents. By tapping the unique knowledge and referral networks of our Advisors, undisclosed evidence of patent validity known as prior art can be discovered. Advisors can earn up to $50,000 for submitting invalidating prior art, as well as premium compensation in a Profit Sharing Plan for active participants. The result is a highly-rewarded community providing a second, citizen's review of U.S. patents. To learn more or become a member of our community, please visit www.articleonepartners.com .