Technical solutions company Intergraph has sued chip-giant Intel
in a Texas district court alleging that Intel has infringed two of
its patents. According to Alabama-based Intergraph, the patents
define key aspects of parallel instruction computing (PIC).
Intergraph alleges that its patented PIC technology forms an
essential component in Intel’s new Itanium chip.
This is the second time that Intergraph has made allegations of
patent infringement against Intel. The last case, in November 1997,
was based on a claim that Intel had used the company’s patented
Clipper technology in the development of its Pentium family of
processors and systems. A date for a jury trial, due to take place
in an Alabama district court, has still to be set in that case.
According to Intergraph, the subject matter of the two lawsuits
against Intel is unconnected. Intel has not yet publicly responded
to the latest allegations.
