"By the world's most widely accepted innovation index, patents awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, AMD is emerging as a technology powerhouse," said Hector Ruiz, AMD president and chief operating officer.

For the third year in a row, AMD ranked among the top 25 companies in the number of new U.S. patents received. Each year AMD has moved up on the list. In 1998 AMD ranked 24th in patents earned and 17th in 1999.

"AMD received 1,055 U.S. patents last year," said Ruiz. "AMD innovations in both product design and process technology contribute directly to our ability to deliver leading-edge solutions to customers. We think there's a strong connection between AMD innovations, our continued success, and the number of awards won by our microprocessors and flash memory devices in recent years."

"Our rise on the patents list shows our growing status as a technology leader," said Ruiz. "There are many great companies who rank as top patent recipients. However, most of these corporations have revenues that far surpass those of AMD. The truth is that, in terms of patents awarded, we're standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's leading companies."

For a complete list of the top 25 U.S. patent recipients for the past three years, refer to the attached chart.

U.S. Patents 1998-2000 (source: IFIClaims)