VIA and Intel Settle Patent Infringement Cases

VIA Technologiess, today announced that VIA and Intel Corporation have reached a settlement agreement in a series of pending patent lawsuits related to chipsets and microprocessors. The agreement encompasses 11 pending cases in five countries involving 27 patents.

Under terms of the settlement, both companies will dismiss all pending legal claims in all jurisdictions. The companies also entered into a ten-year patent cross license agreement covering each company's products. As part of the agreement Intel granted VIA a license to sell microprocessors that are compatible with the x86 instruction set but not pin compatible or bus compatible with Intel microprocessors.

Intel further agreed for a period of three years, not to assert its patents on VIA bus or pin compatible microprocessors. Intel also granted VIA a four year license to design and sell chipsets that are compatible with the Intel microprocessor bus and agreed not to assert its patents on VIA or its customers or distributors on such chipsets for a fifth year. The agreement will be royalty bearing to Intel for some products. The license agreements do not apply to S3 Graphics, a company partially owned by VIA.

Each company is responsible for its own attorney's fees. Specific financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Intel initiated the litigations in September 2001, claiming that VIA's microprocessor and chipset products infringed Intel patents. VIA counter sued, claiming that Intel microprocessors infringed three patents VIA acquired in connection with its acquisition of IDT's Centaur subsidiary.