Small victory

Chip designer Via Technologies Inc. scored a small victory against Intel Corp. last week in an ongoing legal saga over technology licensing that has spread into courtrooms in several countries. The decision does not affect a separate battle between the two companies concerning bus licensing for Pentium 4 chip sets. That battle has slowed the adoption of Via's flagship P4x266 core logic product because top-tier motherboard companies are reluctant to use it and possibly face Intel's wrath. In an older lawsuit filed last year, Intel alleged that Via infringed upon an Intel patent relating to graphics technology when Via developed chip sets that supported Advanced Micro Devices Inc. microprocessors. Specifically, Intel said Via used the "fast write" specification of the Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) standard developed by Intel and now followed as an industry standard. Intel alleged that Via implemented patented technology that went beyond the "baseline" of the standard, while Via contended that "fast write" was a specification required to fully implement the standard. Via's position was supported by a ruling in a California court. "Intel is incorrect," wrote Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in a decision dated Nov 20. The judge also took a swipe at Intel for being too narrow-minded in its interpretation of what features are optional or required when implementing the AGP standard. "Under Intel's reading of the license, it would be impossible for any engineer or business to understand what was (or was not) licensed," Alsup wrote.