Nvidia & Intel Trade Punches

Can’t we all just get along?

Last February, Intel filed a lawsuit against Nvidia over a cross-licensing  agreement that was signed in 2004.  The chipmaker claimed that the agreement they had signed with Nividia did not apply to the latest lines of processors which contain onboard memory controllers.  Thus, these processors should not qualify under the agreement.  However, according to Vnunet.com, Nvidia has fired back.

Nvidia has filed a countersuit against Intel, and is seeking to end Intel’s access to its patent portfolio.  In addition, Nvidia also claims that Intel is acting out of spite due to the growing power of the graphics processing units that are manufactured by Nvidia.

“We must defend ourselves and the rights we negotiated when we provided Intel with access to our valuable patents.  Intel’s actions are intended to block us from making use of the very licence rights that they agreed to provide,” said Nvidia president and chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang.

Intel and AMD Squabble over New Company

It now appears as if Intel Corp. is now in the middle of a patent fight, after stating that Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has violated a licensing agreement.  According to The Industry Standard, the dispute is centered around an AMD spin off company, GlobalFoundries Inc., that was founded with the help of an Abu Dhabi-based partner, Advanced Technology Investment Co.

AMD said that the new company is an AMD subsidiary, and it should have the same rights to the Intel Technology that was licensed in 2001.  That year, Intel and AMD came to terms on a licensing agreement that covers Intel’s x86 architecture, the heart of PC chips and many server chips.

However, Intel said yesterday that it does not consider GlobalFoundries to be an AMD subsidiary.  Therefore, Intel is maintaining their position that GlobalFoundries is not entitled to their technology.

This recent Intel opinion is a change in course, as the company originally seemed willing to have discussions, as AMD revealed in a January regulatory filing.  But the hostile Intel actions have changed attitudes at AMD, as the company said the following in a statement:

Intel’s action is an attempt to distract the world from the global antitrust scrutiny it faces. Should this matter proceed to litigation, we will prove not only that Intel is wrong, but also that Intel fabricated this claim to interfere with our commercial relationships and thus has violated the cross-license.

Psion Files Countersuit over ‘Netbook’

Last week, we reported that Intel had filed suit against Psion and their use of the “netbook” trademark.  However, Psion has recently filed a countersuit against Intel.  According to TechSpot.com, the lawsuit is almost identical to Intel’s, but Psion is reportedly seeking $1.2 billion.

Psion claims that Intel knew Psion owned the “netbook” trademark, but they still adopted the name.  As Psion stated:

Intel has acted willfully and maliciously, has unlawfully attempted to trade on the tremendous commercial value, reputation and goodwill of the Netbook mark, and has deliberately and intentionally confused and deceived the public as to an affiliation, connection or association of Intel with Psion, and/or as to the origin, sponsorship or approval of Intel’s goods and/or services.

In the original suit filed by Intel, the company claimed that Psion had stopped using the trademark in question.  But as the Channel Register reports, Psion claims it has already sold $13,650 in products under the “netbook” trademark this year.  Psion acknowledges that product sales are declining, but did state that they sold at leat $60,900 in 2008.

While this litigation from Intel was expected, many are questioning the claims that Psion is still successfully selling netbooks.  The two will soon head to court, and we’ll see how this all plays out.