GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman, Dec. 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — O2Micro®International Limited (Nasdaq:OIIM), a global leader in the design, development and marketing of high-performance integrated circuits and solutions, today announced that it was issued seven claims under United States patent number 8,232,773 for its Over-voltage Transient Controller; a continuation of the invention issued September 2009 under United States patent number 7,589,499.

Pre-charging (charging battery cells with a very low current) is required when a Lithium Ion rechargeable battery pack is too cold or deeply discharged. O2Micro’s patented controller architecture enables lower cost pre-charging, without increasing the board size. The patented architecture enables “adaptive” pre-charge to increase the charging current as the cell voltage increases, until finally reaching the full charging current level. Prior art utilized a fixed charging current, taking a longer time to charge the battery pack.

“Rechargeable battery applications include laptop computers, PDAs, cell phones, and any portable electronic device,” said Bill Densham, strategic marketing director, O2Micro.

About O2Micro

Founded in April 1995, O2Micro develops and markets innovative power management and e-commerce components for the Computer, Consumer, Industrial, and Communications markets. Products include Intelligent Lighting, Battery Management, and Power Management.

O2Micro International maintains an extensive portfolio of intellectual property with 21,475 patent claims granted, and over 22,000 more pending. The company maintains offices worldwide. Additional company and product information can be found on the company website at www.o2micro.com.

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O2Micro, the O2Micro logo, and combinations thereof are registered trademarks of O2Micro. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Statements made in this release that are not historical, including statements regarding O2Micro’s or management’s intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, plans or predictions of the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as reduced demand for products of electronic equipment manufacturers which include O2Micro’s products due to adverse economic conditions in general or specifically affecting O2Micro’s markets, technical difficulties and delays in the developments process, and errors in the products. You are also referred to the Form F-1 in connection with the company’s initial public offering in August 2000, Form F-3 in connection with the company’s public offering in November 2001, and the annual reports on Form 20-F, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACT: Scott L. Anderson Director of Investor Relations, O2Micro Phone: 408.987.5920, x8888 Email: [email protected]