(Archived) Praxair's UpTime® Technology Upheld in U.S. Court

DANBURY, Conn., April 19, 2007 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) reported several developments in its patent litigations with ATMI, Inc. concerning their respective sub-atmospheric ion implant dispenser technologies for semiconductor processing.

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld an April 2006 decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which had ruled that ATMI's U. S. patents for its VAC technology were invalid. Accordingly, the New York District Court dismissed ATMI's patent infringement action concerning Praxair's UpTime ion implant dispenser technology.

Separately, in December 2005, a jury found that ATMI's VAC dispensers infringe two of Praxair's patents and rejected ATMI's arguments that Praxair's patents were invalid. In August 2006, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware upheld the jury's findings. Among other things, Praxair is seeking damages against ATMI in this case.

"We are pleased by the positive results obtained in these matters. The court decisions in the United States are a clear vindication of Praxair's UpTime patent position and we believe this will facilitate the market penetration of the UpTime system." said Ray Roberge, president of Praxair Electronics. "The UpTime system provides significant productivity and cost advantages for the supply of ion-implant dopant gases to the semiconductor market. We continue to make excellent progress in commercializing the technology globally."

About Praxair Electronics
Praxair Electronics provides the global semiconductor industry with process consumables, including a full line of gases and materials, sputtering targets and CMP consumables on-site services, chamber components including electrostatic chucks, and spare-parts logistics services. In 2006, Praxair's sales to the global electronics industry were $657 million. More information on Praxair Electronics is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com/electronics.

About Praxair
Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2006 sales of $8.3 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.