University of New Mexico Sues Intel

It seems that the end-year period can be said to be the time of legal upheaval, as it appears that lawsuits are sprouting up one after another, with Intel, in this case, getting sued for patent infringement.

Not long ago, it was revealed that HP was finally getting around to reaching a settlement for some bribery charges.

Before that, though still quite recently, a certain Rembrandt IP called both Seagate and Western Digital to court over patent infringement.

Now, it seems that Intel, the leading maker of microprocessors, has seen the rise of its own new lawsuit at the hands of the University of New Mexico.

The plaintiff filed a complaint in which it accuses Intel of having used, in the making of its 32nm processors, technology that infringes its patents.

UNM.STC, the licensing division of the University itself, develops patterning lithography technology, which is being used for 32nm manufacturing.

Basically, UNM.STC seeks to add Intel to its list of licensees for the U.S. Patent No. 6.042.998, also known as "Method and Apparatus for Extending Spatial Frequencies in Photolithography Images."

It was awarded back in 2000 and defines patterns on double patterning lithography technology, though it is unclear if it covers all implementation of double patterning.

It is this patent that STC claims to have been violated by Intel for over a year.

"I think it's fair to say the university believes that it is due the proper the agreements in place for reasonable royalties if the companies are using the double patterning lithography, which we believe is very important to the industry," said Lisa Kuuttila, STC's president and CEO.

"We would be thrilled to have Intel as a licensee," Kuuttila added.

Kuuttila did not give any details on what the licensing agreement would entail and also did not give any names when asked if it plans to take similar actions against other semiconductor companies.