TECHNOLOGY - July 24, 1996

Texas Instruments Loses Legal Fight Over Patents: The company was seeking to reinstate $51.8 million in patent-infringement damages against three competitors. A Washington-based appeals court affirmed a Texas federal judge’s decision last year to throw out a jury’s verdict against Cypress Semiconductor Corp., VLSI Technology Inc. and LSI Logic Corp. A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against Texas Instruments Inc. even though the same appeals court, in 1993, sided with the Dallas-based company in a related international trade dispute involving the same patents. Texas Instruments sued the three companies, claiming they imported semiconductors that were made abroad by processes that violated Texas Instruments’ patents for transistors encased in plastic. Separately, Texas Instruments said it agreed to sell its worldwide printer business to Genicom Inc. for an undisclosed price.