Intel Putting Kibosh on Leaks

Electronic News, May 8, 2000

Intel Corp. may be trying to halt those employees who leave the MPU giant from sharing its secrets with the rest of the world. The house that x86 built is seeking a preliminary injunction against Internet broadband access chip vendor Broadcom Corp. from using former Intel employees to disclose trade secrets to the competition. Before a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge this week the two firms are expected to resume their arguments, which originally started in March with Intel's attempt to prevent three employees joining Broadcom's ranks. In an amended allegation, Intel charged that Broadcom is misappropriating its trade secrets by placing former Intel employees in positions where they will disclose Intel's intellectual property. If Intel is successful, broad restrictions may result in California labor law preventing employees with access to sensitive trade secrets from leaving a company by their own free will to join another.

Hitachi Takes ITC Action

Hitachi Ltd. last week asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to broaden the scope of investigation into patent infringement claims from Rambus Inc., of Mountain View. Calif. While Rambus originally claimed in January that Hitachi SDRAM devices and SH microprocessors contain designs that infringe on Rambus patents, Hitachi is claiming that the investigation now includes Fujitsu Ltd., NEC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., and Hyundai Industries Co. Ltd. While Rambus' original complaint stemmed from parts found in the Sega DreamCast home video game console, Hitachi has claimed that all of its SDRAM parts are made pursuant to open standards of the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council Solid State Technology Association (JEDEC). The companies named also make SDRAMs according to JEDEC standards. Rambus is seeking an injunction from the ITC against the importation of several devices Hitachi manufactures that contain SDRAM designs.

Intel Employees Pirates?

A grand jury in Chicago indicted 17 people, including a current employee and four former employees of Intel Corp., in a global software piracy case in Chicago. The group also includes a Microsoft employee and members of a group known as "Pirates with Attitude." They have been charged with exchanging hardware for pirated software. An Intel spokesman said the company was notified of its employees' involvement by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is cooperating with the authorities.

Intel Mulls Israeli Investment

Intel Corp., looking at options to expand its manufacturing facilities worldwide, has approached the Israeli government for an aid package. The company already has in Israel a $1.6 billion plant that is partly funded by the government. Intel is now looking to expand its operations to include the advanced 0.13-micron process. An Intel spokesman said the company was considering all its facilities, including Ireland and the United States, and that no final decision has been made regarding the expansion. He said Intel will take advantage of any package that will help make its investment attractive. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have indicated that Intel will invest at least $2.5 billion to expand the plant.

Oceans Away

Geneva-based STMicroelectronics NV became an even more formidable presence in the North American market last week with the acquisition of Nortel Networks' silicon semiconductor production operations located in Ottawa, Canada, and a six-year supply agreement with Nortel valued at up to $2 billion over the first three years.