Intel Loses Ruling in Patent Dispute

Intel Corp. lost a key ruling in its patent dispute with Intergraph Corp. when a federal judge ruled that an old cross-licensing agreement didn’t give the No. 1 chip maker the rights to some of Intergraph’s patents. Intel had argued that it had the rights to certain “Clipper” chip patents through an agreement with National Semiconductor Corp., which at the time owned Fairchild, the company that developed Clipper. The U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala., ruled that because National didn’t seek permission to use the Clipper patents from Fairchild, a wholly owned unit, they’re not covered by that cross-licensing agreement. Intergraph in 1987 bought the part of Fairchild that owned Clipper. “We’re disappointed and we respectfully disagree with the judge,” said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. “We will look for a path to pursue an appeal.” The broader case is set to go to trial in February. Huntsville, Ala.-based Intergraph sued Intel in 1997, accusing it of using technology covered by Intergraph patents in the Pentium family of chips. It also accused Intel of antitrust violations. Intel has said that it doesn’t infringe the patents and that the patents aren’t valid. Intergraph shares surged in late trading when the company released a statement about the ruling. It closed up $2.13 at $9.84 on Nasdaq. Intel closed up 25 cents at $53.44, also on Nasdaq.