U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Rejects Claims in Synopsys Patent, Magma Announces

Business Wire, August 17, 2006

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today rejected all the claims in Synopsys Inc.'s patent number 6,378,114 (the '114 patent), calling into question the validity of the patent, Magma(R) Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq:LAVA) said in a statement today. The validity of the '114 patent has been in dispute during the companies' patent litigation currently before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

"This determination by the U.S. PTO is entirely consistent with the position we have maintained throughout the case, which is that Synopsys' '114 patent is invalid," said David Stanley, Magma corporate vice president, Corporate Affairs. "We are pleased with the U.S. PTO's action."

The U.S. PTO's action does not invalidate the patent but is an intermediate step in the re-examination process that may ultimately result in the patent being deemed invalid.

Filings, court orders and other documents relevant to this matter are available on the Magma website at www.magma-da.com/PatentLitigation.html.> About Magma

Magma's software for integrated circuit (IC) design is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology. The world's top chip companies use Magma's electronic design automation (EDA) software to design and verify complex, high-performance ICs for communications, computing, consumer electronics and networking applications, while at the same time reducing design time and costs. Magma provides software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification, characterization and programmable logic design, and its integrated RTL-to-GDSII design flow offers "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon"(TM). Magma is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com.

Magma is a registered trademark and "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon" is a trademark of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks inherent in litigation. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Magma undertakes no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements.