Intergraph Wins Injunction Against Intel

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April 13, 1998 (12:14 PM EDT)

By Kora Mcnaughton,

Workstation vendor Intergraph won a small victory in its patent-infringement suit against Intel Friday, when a federal judge ordered the chip maker to provide Intergraph with product information and marketing support while the case is pending.

Intergraph's high-end product line, which is built entirely around Intel (company profile) processors, has been "badly impacted" by Intel's actions, said Intergraph CEO Jim Meadlock in a conference call Monday. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel had reportedly withheld advance product information -- delaying the release of Intergraph products for as long as four months -- and excluded Intergraph (company profile) from key Intel marketing events.

"We've been climbing trees to get new products out that stay competitive," said Meadlock, adding that the financial damage has been significant.

Judge Edwin Nelson of the Northern District of Alabama apparently sided with Integraph on the release of Intel's technical information.

"Because Intergraph has redesigned its workstation program around Intel's microprocessor -- in reliance on Intel's representations that it would be a reliable source of technical information and technology to Intergraph -- Intergraph is 'locked in' to Intel's microprocessor technology and cannot feasibly switch to other microprocessors," said Nelson in an 80-page injunction.

Nelson added that Huntsville, Ala.-based Intergraph "has established a substantial likelihood of success on the merits on one or more of its claims" in the lawsuit filed against Intel in November.

"We're disappointed," said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. "We're considering all our options up to and including an appeal."

The suit charges that Intel used its dominant position in the chip market to coerce Intergraph into giving up patent rights defining how cache memory and main memory are synchronized in a microprocessor. Intel's actions are in violation of business contracts and the Sherman Antitrust Act, Intergraph said.

Intel's Pentium Pro and Pentium II chips violate the patent, the suit said, and Intergraph is seeking unspecified damages.

"If you read Intergraph's legal brief, you would believe we woke up one day and said, 'We want those patent rights,' " Mulloy said.

Meadlock said he expects Intel to appeal the court order, delaying an eventual jury trial. "It will be late this year before there is any real action in court again," he said.