SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) today announced that the U.S. District Court in Rochester, N.Y., rejected a recent motion made by Xerox Corporation related to a claim of patent infringement. The court refused to halt the sale of Palm Powered(TM) handhelds in the United States and, further, rejected Xerox' effort to set a trial date to determine damages Xerox claims it is owed. Calling the latter motion "premature," the court noted that Palm's appeal of the decision is still pending. The court actions occurred late Friday, Feb. 22.

Xerox had filed a lawsuit in 1997 alleging Palm's use of Graffiti(R) handwriting symbols violates Xerox' U.S. Patent No. 5,596,656 relating to computerized handwriting recognition. Palm maintains that it does not infringe the Xerox patent and that the patent is invalid. (See news release dated Dec. 21, 2001.)

"We intend to pursue our appeal vigorously and have excellent arguments to support our view," said Eric Benhamou, chairman and chief executive officer of Palm, Inc. "For thousands of years, people have been creating writing symbols. Xerox doesn't own the alphabet.

"Numerous handwriting-recognition technologies have long been available, some costing pennies per unit," Benhamou said. "Graffiti is only a tiny fraction of the software experience that drives the existing 21 million Palm Powered products."

As is common in such cases, the court has required Palm to post security until its appeal can be heard.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000). Based on the Palm OS(R) platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow people to carry and access their most critical information wherever they go. Palm(TM) handhelds address the needs of individuals, enterprises and educational institutions by offering the foundation for thousands of application solutions. Palm stock is traded on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol PALM. More information is available at http://www.palm.com .
NOTE: Palm OS and Graffiti are registered trademarks and Palm and Palm Powered are trademarks of Palm, Inc.
SOURCE Palm, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.palm.com
CONTACT: Marlene Somsak of Palm, Inc., +1-408-878-2592, or Marlene.somsak@corp.palm.com