The litigation ledger

Emedia Professional, Oct, 1998

Federal Trade Commission v. Intel Corporation

A January 5, 1999 court date has been set in the antitrust suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Intel Corporation. The suit, filed this past June, alleges that Intel used its dominant market position and withheld key information from three competitors in an attempt to stifle competition and impede innovation. Intel currently manufactures all but one of the five microprocessors powering today's PCs--in effect making microprocessing a seemingly one-horse race--but denies many of the charges leveled against it. In a formal response released July 14, Intel argued it has not monopolized any market, used unfair methods of competition, or violated any antitrust laws, and cited "intellectual property disputes between Intel and three other major high-technology companies" as the springboard for the FTC's allegations.

Hewlett-Packard v. Xerox Corporation

Since September 1997, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Xerox have been embroiled in an ongoing legal battle over patent and trademark infringement issues. The saga will not be resolved anytime soon, it seems, since HP decided to proceed to trial with its complaint against Xerox--despite a U.S. District court judge's July refusal to grant a preliminary injunction sought by HP against the company. At the heart of the suit is the allegation that the packaging for one of Xerox's toner cartridges--which is compatible with HP LaserJet printers--infringes an HP trademark and will mislead consumers into thinking the Xerox product is endorsed or sponsored by HP. Xerox filed its own suit against HP in May, alleging patent infringement and seeking to prevent HP from selling certain products.

Network Associates v. Internet Security Systems

Network Associates, supplier of enterprise network security and management solutions, filed a patent infringement suit against Internet Security Systems (ISS) alleging that ISS' RealSecure product violates a patent issued for its CyberCop brand of intrusion detection products. The patent in question--No. 5,557,742--relates to "a method and system for detecting intrusion into and misuse of a data processing system." The plaintiff will seek monetary damages--including treble damages for any willful infringement--and injunctive relief to prevent ISS from making, using, offering to sell, or selling RealSecure or any other infringing product. In a statement released on the day Network Associates announced the filing, ISS called the suit "frivolous" and the company's tactics "inappropriate."