MIPS Technologies Receives Favorable Ruling in Markman Hearing Of Patent Infringement Case Against Lexra

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2001--MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIPS, MIPSB - ), a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and network applications, announced that the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a ruling last Friday (September 14, 2001) in the ongoing patent infringement action between MIPS Technologies and Lexra that will have considerable impact on the case as it proceeds toward trial. The ruling arises from a special proceeding required under U.S. patent law called a ``Markman hearing,'' where both sides present their arguments to the court as to how they believe certain claims at issue in the lawsuit should be interpreted. In the ruling, the Court largely embraced MIPS Technologies' position overall, and wholly embraced the MIPS position with regard to the critical `976 patent.

``This is the start of the lengthy trial phase that will proceed in U.S. district court. We are pleased with the Markman hearing ruling as it affirms our assertion that Lexra has misappropriated substantial elements of our patented technology,'' said John Bourgoin, chairman and chief executive officer of MIPS Technologies. ``We remain confident in our position concerning Lexra's infringement of two of our more than 130 worldwide patents.''

The Court's ruling rejected Lexra's attempt to limit the claims of United States Patent No. 4,814,976 (`976) to hardware implementations of the unaligned load and store instructions (LWL, LWR, SWL, SWR) of the MIPS® instruction set architecture. MIPS Technologies has consistently maintained that the claims of the `976 patent asserted in the lawsuit are not limited to such an implementation of these instructions, but also cover software implementations like Lexra's.

The Court's ruling also set forth its interpretation regarding the claims of the other patent presently involved in the lawsuit, United States Patent No. 5,864,703 (`703). At the Markman hearing, Lexra argued for interpretations of several terms that would limit the scope of the claims. The Court rejected a number of Lexra's arguments concerning the `703 patent during the hearing, while adopting an interpretation of one claim limitation supported by Lexra. MIPS Technologies, however, believes that it will be able to prove Lexra's infringement of the '703 patent under this interpretation.

In a related matter, the `976 patent is the subject of a reexamination before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). As previously reported in the press in June, the PTO confirmed the patentability of 8 of the 14 claims contained in the patent and made a preliminary rejection of the remaining claims based solely on information presented by Lexra. MIPS Technologies has recently presented its position to the PTO in a manner consistent with and supported by the Markman hearing, and looks forward to a final ruling from the PTO shortly.

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 650/567-5000 or www.mips.com.

Note to Editors: MIPS® is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
     MIPS Technologies, Inc., Mountain View
     Lee Garvin Flanagin, 650/567-5180
     flanagin@mips.com