Intergraph wins Intel injunction
The company wins a preliminary injunction against Intel as part of its federal lawsuit alleging patent infringement and antitrust violations.
Intergraph said in a news release that a U.S. federal district court in Alabama on Friday prohibited Intel "from terminating Intergraph's rights as a 'strategic customer in current and future programs,' or from otherwise taking any action adversely affecting Intel's business relationship with Intergraph."
In addition to alleging that Pentium microprocessors infringe three of its patents related to memory functions, Intergraph accused Intel of threatening to withhold key technical information if the Huntsville, Alabama, maker of Windows NT-based workstation hardware and software did not agree to cross-license its intellectual property rights.
At a press conference this morning, Jim Meadlock, Intergraph's chief executive, said the decision squarely sided with Intergraph on both of those counts, adding that U.S. District Judge Edwin Nelson, who penned the preliminary injunction, also sided with Intergraph on allegations of anticompetitive conduct.
"We will certainly appeal," he added. "It's just a question of timing."
Intergraph is not alone in looking into potentially anticompetitive behavior by Intel. The Federal Trade Commission has been talking to numerous Intel competitors and partners to determine if the chipmaker uses its dominance in the market for personal computer microprocessors to exert an undue influence in other areas.
In addition, Intel faces allegations similar to those leveled by Intergraph from Silicon Storage Technology, which in November accused the chip giant of engaging in anticompetitive behavior after Intel sued it for patent infringement.
In contrast, Intel, which last year posted revenues of more than $20 billion in revenues, stated in a document filed last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it "does not believe that the ultimate outcome will have a material adverse effect on Intel's financial position or overall trends in results of operations."