ASML, Zeiss and Canon cross-license lithography equipment patent portfolios

Semiconductor lithography is the process in which a substrate on a silicon wafer is exposed through a mask through optical or particle projection. ASML machines use this photographic process to image electronic circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, much like a camera prints an image on film. Lithography machines are critical to the production of integrated circuits or chips, and the main driver of the continuing miniaturization of electronic features on semiconductors.

ASML is the world's leading provider of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry. Headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, ASML is traded on Euronext Amsterdam and Nasdaq under the symbol 'ASML'. ASML has more than 6,400 employees, serving chip manufacturers in more than 60 locations in 15 countries.

With a wide-ranging product portfolio, Carl Zeiss SMT meets the requirements of the key processes involved in nanotechnology and microchip production, making it one of the leading direct and indirect suppliers to the semiconductor industry. As an innovation leader in the field of lithography optics and optical and electron beam-based inspection and measuring systems, Carl Zeiss SMT generates important momentum for further development in the chip industry and nanotechnology. Together with its subsidiaries at locations in Germany, the UK, the US, and France, the international group of companies employs a total workforce of some 1,900 people. For the latest fiscal year ending September 30, 2006, the company recorded net sales of  more than €860 million. The stock corporation is a 100% subsidiary of Carl Zeiss AG.

'Safe Harbor' Statement under the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: the matters discussed in this document may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: economic conditions, product demand and semiconductor equipment industry capacity, worldwide demand and manufacturing capacity utilization for semiconductors (the principal product of our customer base), competitive products and pricing, manufacturing efficiencies, new product development, ability to enforce patents, the outcome of intellectual property litigation, availability of raw materials and critical manufacturing equipment, trade environment, and other risks indicated in the risk factors included in ASML’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.