Intergraph wins ruling against Intel
Jun. 11, 1999 (Computer Reseller News - CMP via COMTEX) -- San
Francisco - A federal judge ruled that Intel Corp. has no license to
use Intergraph Corp.'s microprocessor patents, striking down one of the chip maker's defenses against Intergraph's patent infringement and
antitrust lawsuit.
The ruling came down June 4 from U.S. District Court Judge Edwin
Nelson, who disagreed with Intel's assertion that the company had
rights to use Intergraph's patented technology through a
cross-licensing agreement between Intel and National Semiconductor Corp.
The chip giant is planning to appeal the ruling, said an Intel
spokesman.
Intergraph, Huntsville, Ala., filed a lawsuit against Santa Clara,
Calif.-based Intel in November 1997, charging patent infringement,
illegal coercive behavior and antitrust violations. The trial is
scheduled to begin on Feb. 14, 2000, and will decide whether Intel is
guilty of patent infringement.
Intergraph and National Semiconductor each bought parts of Fairchild
Semiconductor Corp. in concurrent transactions in 1987, Intergraph
said. Intergraph bought Fairchild's advanced processor division, the
developer of the Clipper microprocessor.
Intel claimed Fairchild's Clipper patent applications fell under a
cross-licensing agreement between Intel and National. The judge,
however, ruled that the Clipper patents belonged to Fairchild-a
separate corporation-not National Semiconductor.
"Intel repeatedly has made a big issue about the 'fact' that they
have a license to the Clipper patents," said Jim Meadlock, Intergraph
chairman and chief executive. "The court affirms they don't have such a license. We believe the entire Pentium family infringes on our
patents."
Intel was disappointed and "respectfully disagreed" with the judge's
decision, the company spokesman said.
The ruling is unprecedented and has broad implications for thousands of other cross-licensing agreements, said the spokesman. Companies in cross-licensing agreements would be required to obtain agreements with each subsidiary, he said, adding that the defense regarding the Clipper patents was just one of Intel's multiple defenses in the Intergraph case.
In March, the Federal Trade Commission approved a settlement with
Intel that the agency said resolved its antitrust case against the chip maker.
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that Intel was a monopoly that
coerced Intergraph, Compaq Computer Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp.,
now owned by Compaq, into surrendering patent rights by withholding
information from them. Intel's strong-arm tactics stifled innovation
and competition in the microprocessor market, the government argued.
Under the settlement, Intel is prohibited from withholding or
threatening to withhold advanced technical information or products from
customers as a means of obtaining intellectual property licenses. The
settlement protects Intel's rights to withhold its information or
processors "for legitimate business reasons," according to the FTC.
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By: Marcia Savage
Copyright 1999 CMP Media Inc.
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