A patent holding company is expanding its patent infringement lawsuit to Intel and AMD
.
Lawyers for Acacia Research filed additional
paperwork with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of
California asking that the two chipmakers be added to a patent
infringement case currently pending in the Calif. court.
The suit centers on Acatia’s Computer Memory Cache Coherency
technology, which connects peripheral devices with cache memory to
communicate with the main computer memory.
Acacia said its technology lets different memories communicate and
synchronize with each other, allowing peripheral devices to operate at faster speeds.
The technology is currently used in desktop, notebook, and server
computer systems.
Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy told internetnews.com that the
company had evaluated Acacia’s claims and found the allegations are
“without merit.” Mulloy said Intel would defend itself “vigorously”
against the lawsuit.
A spokesperson with AMD was not immediately available to comment on the suit.
Acacia filed the original suit against Via Technologies back in
December 2004 and said it would more than likely consolidate the
lawsuits for pretrial purposes. In its statement to the press, Acacia
remained vague on exactly what it wants from Intel and AMD.
Newport Beach, Calif.-based Acacia is made up of Acacia Technologies
group and CombiMatrix group. The conglomerate makes its living acquiring
and licensing patent rights to various technologies related to digital
audio-on-demand and video-on-demand transmission.
As internetnews.com previously reported, the company began making waves in 2003 when it claimed it pretty much
owned streaming media and managed to shut
down five X-rated sites with an injunction.
Last year, the company set its
sights on the telecommunications and wireless industries claiming
companies like Verizon infringed on its digital media
transmission (DMT) patents.
If it holds up in court, Acacia’s patent would be more detrimental to
Intel than to AMD. Industry reports tracking 2003 sales of core logic
chipsets by all manufacturers indicate total annual sales of
approximately $4 billion, with Intel holding the largest market share.
