Broadcom Sues Microtune

IRVINE and SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In a complaint filed on Friday, January 24, Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM - News) alleges that tuners, power amplifiers and Bluetooth(TM) products made by Texas-based Microtune, Inc. (Nasdaq: TUNE - News) infringe three Broadcom patents. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, is the second filed by Broadcom against Microtune in the past eight months. On July 15, 2002, Broadcom filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging that solid-state RF tuner products made by Microtune infringe a fourth Broadcom patent. Trial in that case is scheduled to begin in January 2004. The new lawsuit addresses a set of patents relating to electrostatic discharge protection (ESD) circuits and Bluetooth and other wireless technologies. The patents are U. S. Patent No. 6,445,039B1, entitled "System And Method For ESD Protection," and U. S. Patent Nos. 5,682,379 and 6,359,872, both entitled "Wireless Personal Local Area Network." The earlier lawsuit alleges infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,377,315, entitled "System And Method For Providing A Low Power Receiver Design." Both lawsuits seek a permanent injunction barring manufacture and sale of the infringing products by Microtune as well as monetary damages, including treble damages for willful infringement. Broadcom Corp. Microtune Inc.