Agere Systems Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Intersil
ALLENTOWN, Pa., Oct 17, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Agere Systems (NYSE: AGR.A, AGR.B) today announced that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Intersil, Inc. in the United States District Court in Delaware.
The lawsuit charges Intersil with infringing six patents, three of which are essential in order to comply with the IEEE 802.11b wireless local area networking (WLAN) standard. Agere previously agreed to make these standards- based patents available on reasonable terms and conditions. Agere's complaint states that Intersil has been utilizing these patents without any compensation to the company.
The remaining three patents cover Agere-developed wireless system technology associated with aspects of the physical layer (PHY) and radio components, which are currently being used in Intersil's wireless LAN chipsets and reference designs.
Agere is seeking monetary damages for Intersil's infringement of its patents and an injunction prohibiting the company from using the patents in the future.
"We have invested significantly in wireless LAN technology and have developed a rich portfolio of intellectual property in this area over the last 15 years," said Jean Rankin, general counsel, Agere Systems. "This is a highly valuable asset, which is important to the long-term growth and success of our company. It is only fair to our business and our shareholders that we protect this asset and get a reasonable return on our investment. After a number of attempts to negotiate a license with Intersil, we were unable to reach an agreement and were left with no other recourse but to file this lawsuit." |
