IP: accidental law suit?

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Sat, 8 May 1999 09:23:05 -0700 (PDT)
> From: E M <e_j_m () yahoo com>
> To: farber () cis upenn edu
>
> Ooops.  Sorry.  Didn't mean to file a lawsuit against you after all.
> :)
>
>
> http://www.wired.com/news/print_version/business/story/19486.html?wnpg=all
>
> Intel: To Sue Is Human Leander Kahney
>
> 2:15 p.m.  4.May.99.PDT Via Technologies got a surprise package in the
> mail last week from a potential business partner -— court documents
> that were labeled "Intel" inside.
>
> Intel had been negotiating a deal to cross license technologies with
> the Taiwanese chipmaker, and filed a suit in US District Court
> accidentally, according to Intel officials.
>
> The lawsuit was a "draft," prepared as a contingency in case talks
> broke down. It was meant to sit in the files until needed.
>
> "It was a mistake," explained Intel spokesman Chuck Malloy. "It was a
> clerical error at an outside law firm.... We had no intention of
> filing suit at this stage."
>
> The suit was submitted to the US District Court in San Jose,
> California, on 28 April. Once submitted, the complaint could not be
> withdrawn. Intel filed for dismissal of the case the same day.
>
> Malloy declined to reveal any details of the case, except to say that
> it concerned ongoing licensing discussions between the two companies
> regarding Intel's P6 bus for chipsets.
>
> "The license is confidential," Malloy said. "Both companies had some
> issues, and we are in ongoing discussion about them."
>
> Malloy said he didn't know how VIA took the surprise lawsuit. He said
> Intel did contact VIA and apologized for the mistake.
>
> Malloy said the firm in question, Brown & Bain of Phoenix, had worked
> with Intel for years. As far as he knew, no heads rolled for the
> slip-up.
>
> Dean Hays, director of marketing at VIA's US office in Fremont,
> California, said, "Nobody said anything to me about it. How can you do
> something like that by accident?"
>
> However, Hays said VIA had reached an agreement with Intel to license
> its P6 bus technology in April, just after Spring Comdex.
>
> Hays said the deal likely boosted Intel's P6 processor business by
> helping to make the associated bus technology a standard. But at the
> same time, it may have hurt its struggling chipset business.
>
> Hays speculated that Intel's chipset executives were upset with the
> processor executives for making the deal.
>
> "Intel VPs have to compete against each other," he said. "I don't
> think the chipset VPs were all that thrilled about it."
>
>
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