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| Patent Office Decides in Favor of Extended Systems in Reexamination of Pumatech Patents
Patent Office Decides in Favor of Extended Systems in Reexamination of Pumatech Patents; Patent Office Rejects Pumatech Patent Claims in Two Additional Pumatech Patents BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2003--Extended Systems (Nasdaq:XTND) announced today that U.S. Patent Office examiners have issued "Office Actions" rejecting patent claims in the Pumatech, Inc. (Nasdaq:PUMA) '529 and '664 patents. Serious & personalized business, investment and technology intelligence for a serious advantage - BizVantage! The Patent Office, which found a "substantial new question of patentability" for each of the '390, '529, and '664 patents, reexamined the claims in each of these patents upon Extended Systems' request. The examiners have rejected all Pumatech claims that Extended Systems asked the Patent Office to review in Pumatech's '529 and '664 patents. A Patent Office examiner previously rejected all Pumatech claims in the '390 patent over the prior art. As a result of the reexaminations, Extended Systems expects the claims in these three patents to be significantly narrowed or cancelled. By statute, the claims cannot be made broader. This follows news released on August 5 that Extended Systems received a positive ruling in the Markman claims construction hearing in this case. In that decision, the court significantly narrowed the patent claims in five of Pumatech's patents. Extended Systems continues to be confident that the company does not infringe any valid Pumatech claim asserted in the litigation. Extended Systems CEO and President Charles Jepson said, "The Patent Office's actions continue to strengthen our belief that Extended Systems has not infringed any valid Pumatech patent rights and that we will prevail in the litigation." Extended Systems is continuing its aggressive defense of all 8 Pumatech patents involved in the patent lawsuit. Extended Systems had previously requested that the court stay the litigation for the three patents undergoing reexamination with the Patent Office. The court's recent decision to continue the litigation for all 8 patents is not expected to have any negative effect on Extended Systems' case. About Extended Systems Extended Systems provides the expertise, strategy and solutions to help enterprise organizations streamline their business processes through mobile technology. The company's mobile solutions suite enables companies to mobilize critical enterprise applications such as e-mail, field service, sales force automation (SFA), enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM). Extended Systems has more than 3,000 enterprise customers worldwide and key alliance relationships with Ericsson, HP, Handspring, IBM, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, RIM, Sharp, Siemens and Toshiba. Founded in 1984, Extended Systems has offices and subsidiaries in the United States and worldwide. For more information, call 1-800-235-7576 or visit the company Web site. This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the company's expectation that the claims in Pumatech's '390, '529 and '664 patents will be significantly narrowed or cancelled, the impact the Markman claims construction ruling will have on the outcome of the litigation, the company's continued confidence that it does not infringe any valid Pumatech claim asserted in the litigation, and the company's belief concerning the potential outcome of the litigation with Pumatech. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the risks that the U.S. Patent Office may not ultimately cancel or narrow the claims in Pumatech's '390, '529 and '664 patents, the risks associated with litigation, and other risks as detailed from time-to-time in the company's SEC filings, including its 2002 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on September 23, 2002 and 2003 Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed on November 14, 2002, February 14, 2003, and May 15, 2003.
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