Now Via sues Intel to block sales of Pentium 4
Via Technologies is seeking to stop sales of the Pentium 4 family of microprocessors through a lawsuit filed on 10 September...
Via alleges that the Pentium 4 line of chips infringes a patent jointly held by Via and Centaur, a Via subsidiary. The patent concerns the way in which numbers are stored in the processor.
The suit asks that Intel be prohibited from continuing to sell the Pentium 4 and seeks monetary damages. In a statement released on 20 September, Via stressed that they were trying to stop sales of the Pentium 4.
Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel, claimed: "Our products do not infringe and we've planned a vigorous defence".
Dan Havey, director of US marketing at Via said, the timing of Via's suit "is a little coincidental".
At the time Intel filed their claim against Via, Havey claimed: "We had been looking at and assessing our course of action".
Intel and Via have been trading lawsuits since 1999 over chip licensing and patent issues. Earlier in September, Intel hit Via with a patent infringement suit of its own, regarding chipsets used in conjunction with the Pentium 4.
