Silicon giant Intel is being sued - for allegedly infringing patents in the creation of its now-famed Core 2 Duo series of chips.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) alleges that Intel copied some parallel processing technology patented back in 1998 at the University of Wisconsin by four researchers, including Professor Gurindar Sohi. He presented the findings to Intel hoping to license it.
The papers allege the Core 2 microarchitecture infringes WARF's United States Patent No. 5,781,752, entitled "Table Based Data Speculation Circuit for Parallel Processing Computer."
Demand for damages
WARF says that Intel has aggressively marketed the benefits of this invention as a feature of its Core 2 technology. "The technology significantly enhances opportunities for instruction-level parallelism in modern processors, thereby increasing their execution speed," states Michael Falk, WARF general counsel, in a news post on the organisation's website.
Intel doesn't yet seem to have moved to appease its accuser. Engadget reports that the two have been talking for a year - but interestingly, WARF says it contacted Intel in 2001.
Whoever turns out to have the poor memory, Intel sure won't want WARF to get anywhere: "WARF is asking the court to declare that Intel is infringing on its patent. The court also will be asked to enjoin Intel from selling the product, and to order Intel to pay damages to WARF and cover WARF's legal fees," says WARF's post.
Ouch - Intel not being allowed to sell the Core 2 Duo? Now that's something we don't think we'll see anytime soon.