Intel and Nvidia Reportedly Settle License Suit

There is a notable increase in chatter about a possible settlement of a nasty license fight between Intel and Nvidia. The two companies canceled a trial date set for December 6 and it seems as if a suit filed by Intel against Nvidia alleging patent infringement as well as a countersuit by Nvidia that accuses Intel of shutting Nvidia out of being able to offer chipsets for Nehalem processors could soon be resolved.

When Intel decided to integrate a memory controller within Nehalem CPUs, it basically pulled Nvidia's foundation for providing chipsets for Intel processors as it was apparently intended by a cross license agreement (CLA) that was signed by both companies. In Nvidia's view, that was unfair as Intel effectively canceled out one part of the agreement, while it could still access the full GPU patent portfolio for the life of the license. According to that decision, Nvidia's legal right to offer chipsets was limited to Core 2 Duo processors, which, by the way, seems to be at least one reason why Apple is still offering Core 2 Duo processors in Macbooks in combination with Nvidia chipsets.

Of course, Nvidia was not happy and one could argue that Intel's suit against Nvidia was not made in good faith. The company sued to either dissolve the CLA, terminate Intel's rights to use Nvidia's GPU technology or extend Nvidia's right to manufacture Intel-compatible parts. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what the outcome may be. But we know that Intel has a tendency to settle out of court and this one could be expensive. The rumored $1 billion payment to Nvidia may be a bit exaggerated, but our common sense suggests that it will cost Intel a few dollars to wiggle its way out of Nvidia's suit.    

Source: Bloomberg

  • Celestial
    SUCK IT INTEL
    Reply
  • daygall
    hrm.... since im not a mac guy i didnt know macs where still useing C2Ds ... why the heck are they still so expensive?

    anyways all this is good news as it means that at least there will be more options on the table in terms of choices for chipsets
    Reply
  • sykozis
    nVidia announced that their chipset business is done a few months ago...
    Reply
  • winner4455
    Daygallhrm.... since im not a mac guy i didnt know macs where still useing C2Ds ... why the heck are they still so expensive? anyways all this is good news as it means that at least there will be more options on the table in terms of choices for chipsets
    Because it's a Mac...
    Reply
  • jsc
    I'm a PC, "I have the latest specs."

    I'm a Mac, "I don't need specs."
    Reply
  • wymer100
    C2D and an nvidia GPU or an i3 with a craptastic integrated GPU? I think Apple made the correct decision with their macbook and macbook air. The macbook pro uses i5/i7 with discrete GPU so it doesn't matter.
    Reply
  • joytech22
    Intel's just being intel, they want everything to be about "THEM", they want the fastest, they want to run everything "Intel Inside".

    I can't blame them, from a business perspective it's actually a path i could see myself taking, although i still have no idea why they charge so much for their parts.
    Reply
  • scook9
    I am actually glad as you can expect to see NO MORE x58 SLI boards if nvidia gets to make their own chipsets....
    Reply
  • mister g
    I'm wondering if Nvidia will continue their nForce line, and disable the Intel GPU and turn on the chipset one by default, just as a little retribution. Guess having AMD as a common enemy makes any problem between them settle quickly.
    Reply
  • falchard
    Why don't they just drop Intel like a bad habit? I am positive AMD would follow suit and it would effectively destroy the Intel Platform.
    Reply