Atmel Corporation is a semiconductor manufacturer, primarily offering embedded systems built around microcontrollers.

The original Complaint charges Atmel and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Defendants caused Atmel's shares to trade at artificially inflated levels through the issuance of false and misleading financial statements, all the time concealing that Atmel was selling defective chips to its customers which would lead to product recalls, repairs and loss of customer relationships. While the Company's stock price was artificially inflated due to Defendants' false statements, Defendants sold more than $500 million in notes in a private placement offering. Atmel later registered these securities for resale via a Registration Statement. On July 31, 2002, media reports indicated that the Company had been sued by a major customer, Seagate Technology Inc., for selling defective chips which led to defects in millions of disk drives. On this news, the Company's stock price declined to $2.96.

According to the Order, dated January 30, 2004, the U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Defendants’ Motion to dismiss lead Plaintiff’s Consolidated Amended Complaint. The Court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim. On March 2, 2004, the Court entered the Order dismissing the action.