Sonics Continues Lawsuit Against Arteris for Patent Infringement

Company Statement

MILPITAS, Calif -- November 15, 2011 -- Following the filing of Sonics, Inc.'s November 1, 2011 lawsuit against Arteris, Inc. for patent infringement, the company is proceeding with the assertions as outlined in the formal complaint. Sonics is committed to defending its 15-year investments, and as a company whose business is defined by technology patents, intellectual property (IP) and trade secrets, it will make every provision to ensure its extensive portfolio of more than 110 patent properties are fully protected.

To clarify previously reported information using an accurate and viable comparison, it is noteworthy to understand that Sonics is seeking protection for its patents invented and granted exclusively in the United States. Sonics has 45 distinct patents issued with 22 additional U.S. applications in process —which appear to be more than seven times the number of issued patents and pending applications held by Arteris in the U.S. Sonics’ patents build the foundation of our highly configurable on-chip networks; end-to-end connectivity of IP cores, quality of service, security, and the verification of highly configurable IP cores—which protect the underlying architectures for our on-chip communications. Because of Sonics vast U.S. portfolio, we believe it will be increasingly difficult for Arteris to avoid infringement of Sonics’ patents in their future on-chip network and memory scheduling products.

Sonics' customers have shipped more than a billion chips to date and rely on us for the broadest array of highly configurable, on-chip communications IP of anyone in the industry. Our customer base is strong, diverse and growing in every major technology region throughout the world. Sonics’ licensees can remain confident that we will continue to innovate and invest in emerging technologies as we advance system-level design with innovative products such as SonicsGN™. As our newest network-on-chip (NoC), SonicsGN is the industry’s first GHz NoC and the highest frequency solution for applications processing in the world today. Since its introduction less than two months ago, we have seen rapid customer engagement and an early market acceptance as customers become poised to leverage this unique offering in their market-leading SoC designs.

“Since our founding, Sonics has been careful, diligent and deliberate as we invested significant resources to invent the foundational technology that would fuel our business,” said Grant Pierce, Sonics' President and CEO. “This legal action against Arteris was necessary to maintain the integrity of that technology, and uphold our responsibility to customers and investors to protect the ownership of our technology.”

“For years, Sonics has seen sustained growth and profitability, and is evolving with next-generation on-chip networks, IP subsystems and advanced NoC solutions that drive SoC integration and high-performance chip design. Sonics’ business is based on the highest levels of integrity, a true respect for fair and ethical practices and competition, and remains unwavering in its commitment to defend our IP in the very market we pioneered," continued Pierce.