ExxonMobil Achieves Favorable Resolution of Patent Infringement Lawsuit Involving its Gas-to-Liquids Patents

Business Wire, April 11, 2002

Business Editors

ANNANDALE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2002

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), announced today that it has reached a favorable resolution of its patent infringement suit filed against the United States Government on March 26, 1998.

The suit alleged that the Department of Energy (DOE) infringed ExxonMobil's cobalt catalyst and slurry process patents during runs at the DOE reactor in La Porte, Texas. Under this settlement, a judgment has been entered in favor of ExxonMobil and the government has agreed to pay ExxonMobil damages based on appropriate commercial royalty rates. As part of the litigation, in an opinion issued by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, ExxonMobil prevailed in a challenge to the validity of the two patents involved.

The cobalt catalyst and slurry process patents involved in this lawsuit, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,292,705 and 5,348,982, are among ExxonMobil's portfolio of more than 450 U.S. patents covering its AGC-21 technology in the field of gas-to-liquids (GTL) conversion technology. These patents allow for the conversion of natural gas to environmentally friendly hydrocarbon products in a highly cost-effective manner.

"ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing its AGC-21 gas-to-liquids technology and we are pleased to have reached a very satisfactory resolution of this litigation," said Bill Innes, president of ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.

The settlement resolves only prior activities by the Government, and ExxonMobil has retained all of its patent rights involving its AGC-21 technology for the future.