A federal court in Texas has ruled that Intel’s Itanium and
Itanium 2 microprocessors are infringing on patents owned by
computer service company Intergraph, according to media reports.
The decision, which followed a long-running patent dispute between
the two firms, could cost the world’s biggest chip maker up to $250
million.
Intergraph alleged that it owns two patents covering parallel
instruction computing (PIC). PIC technology is used in Intel’s
Itanium, a high-performance chip that runs powerful computers and
servers.
The federal judge accepted Intergraph’s arguments and found that
its patents are “valid and enforceable.” He ruled that Itanium
infringed on designs embodied in the two patents and in the Clipper
processor, formerly used in Intergraph’s workstations.
Intel has spent 10 years and $1 billion in developing Itanium.
However, its liability is limited to $250 million, following a deal
reached between the companies in settling a previous patent dispute
– a settlement which resulted in Intel agreeing to pay Intergraph
the sum of $300 miillion.
A spokesman for Intel said that the company intends to file a
motion for reconsideration. If the company appeals the ruling and
loses, it will have to pay an additional $100 million to license
Intergraph’s technology, under the terms of the previous
settlement.
