Whether Intel is guilty of patent infringement will be determined at trial next year. The current court ruling, however, silences Intel s claim to have carte blanche license to use the patents under an old business agreement with National Semiconductor Corporation. Intergraph bought Fairchild s Advanced Processor Division, the original developer of the Clipper microprocessor. Federal District Judge Edwin Nelson disagreed, however, in a ruling issued late Friday. The undisputed facts establish that NSC had no legal authority to grant a license , as the patents at issue belonged not to NSC but to a legally distinct corporation - Fairchild.
Trial is scheduled for early next year.
In the absence of Fairchild s consent, the terms of the license did not cover Fairchild s Clipper patents. We believe the entire Pentium family infringes on our patents. These coercive tactics include the withholding of essential design and defect information for released Intel products and the intentional interference with Intergraph customers and suppliers. These actions delayed shipment of various Intergraph Computer Systems products and have damaged Intergraph s business, according to Intergraph s lawsuit. For desktop or enterprise solutions, Intergraph offers software, computers, support, consulting, and training services.