Intel sued over patent infringement

Thanks to Carl-Henrik Tjärnlund for the tip: It seems that Intel Corp. isin trouble again, this time with a small company called TechSearch that issuing the company for $500 million on behalf of a now-defunct hardwaremaker named International Meta Systems (IMS). The company charges thatintellectual property contained in the Pentium Pro and Pentium II chipsinfringes on patents issued to IMS.

Back in 1996, IMS attempted to develop its own processor that would becompetitive with Intel's offerings. Dubbed the Meta 6000, the chipincorporated technology on which the company received patents, includingReduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) code that could process Intel'snon-RISC code. The company filed for the patent in 1994 and received it in1996.

Like many Intel competitors, IMS and the Meta 6000 project were doomed fromthe start and the company filed for bankruptcy protection. Now, TechSearch,which represents IMS, is claiming that Intel used its proprietarytechnology in the Pentium Pro and Pentium II chips, though Intel denies theclaims.

"Our position is that we believe that the suit is without merit and that wewill fight it vigorously," said Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy