TMS320C6000 DSP Family Infringes Three Parallel Instruction Computing Patents, Company Says
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., January 30, 2003 – Intergraph® Corporation <Nasdaq: INGR> announced today that its Intellectual Property division has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas charging Texas Instruments™ Incorporated (TI) with patent infringement. Specifically, the Company claims that TI has infringed three patents which define key aspects of parallel instruction computing (PIC), namely, U.S. Patent No. 5,560,028 for "Software Scheduled Superscalar Computer Architecture," U.S. Patent No. 5,794,003 for "Instruction Cache Associative Crossbar Switch System," and U.S. Patent No. 6,360,313 B1 for "Instruction Cache Associative Crossbar Switch."
In its complaint, the Company says that its patented PIC technology is an essential component in the TI family of Digital Signal Processors (DSP) marketed under the name TMS320C6000™, and including the C62x, C64x, and C67x families of DSPs. It is these families which are alleged to be infringing Intergraph's PIC patents. These devices are generally used as high-performance embedded controllers in consumer products. Their applications include audio and video encoders and decoders, broadband solutions, optical networking, telephony, voice processing and wireless communications.
Patented Technology Increases Processor Performance
The patents in question define a method for grouping and routing instructions to multiple parallel processing units. Intergraph's patented PIC technology permits multiple processor operations to occur simultaneously, thereby significantly increasing processor performance.
According to Intergraph, a review of all publicly available documents for the TMS320C6000 product family confirms that the processors use the same parallel instruction computing technology described by the Company's PIC patents. These same patents have already been found to be valid and enforceable by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and were also licensed by Fujitsu in September 2002.
Intergraph developed its patented PIC technology in the early 1990s when the company's Advanced Processor Division designed Intergraph's C5 Clipper microprocessor. TI's TMS320C6000 family of products was introduced in 1997.
Concerning the need for the suit, Intergraph CEO Jim Taylor stated, "It is necessary that we take this step to protect our intellectual property. Our legacy in advanced microprocessor design has left Intergraph and its shareholders with valuable patents. TI's TMS320C6000 family of processors infringes upon Intergraph's patented PIC technology. The parallel instruction computing technology at issue in this lawsuit is another example of the leadership role Intergraph has played in computer design."
Lawsuit is Intergraph's Second Recent Patent Infringement Lawsuit
In December 2002, Intergraph sued Dell Computer Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company (including Compaq products), and Gateway, Inc. for infringing its Clipper memory management patents. That lawsuit will also be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Company's litigation proceedings and licensing program. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, uncertainties with respect to the referenced litigation, the ability and success of the Company in its licensing efforts, and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the Company's annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Intergraph Background Information
Intergraph Corporation <Nasdaq: INGR> is a worldwide provider of end-to-end technical solutions and systems integration. Intergraph's vertically focused business units develop, market and support software and services for local and national governments and for global industries, including public safety; process, power and offshore; mapping/GIS, utilities, communications and earth imaging. In addition, Intergraph's intellectual property division manages the Company's portfolio of intellectual property, including patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Intergraph is headquartered in Huntsville, Ala., with offices worldwide. More information can be found at www.intergraph.com.
Intergraph and the Intergraph logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Corporation. Texas Instruments and TMS320C6000 are trademarks of Texas Instruments Incorporated. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
