As the Intel-Nvidia legal imbroglio starts to boil over, here's what we know so far: On Feb. 19, Intel sued Nvidia, saying Nvidia breached a contract by marketing Nvidia chipsets for Intel Nehalem-class processors. On Thursday,
Nvidia countersued Intel , alleging a breach of contract and seeking to end Intel's license to Nvidia patents.
Intel's complaint and Nvidia's countersuit are both available online.
Did Intel and Nvidia both give peaceful resolution the old college try? Here's how each company officially describes the steps taken to attempt to work out the problem without getting courts involved:
From Intel's complaint: "In early 2008, Nvidia advised Intel that Nvidia plans to design, market, and sell disputed Nvidia MCPs [media and communications processors]. In August 2008, Nvidia reiterated to Intel its intention to sell disputed Nvidia MCPs notwithstanding Intel's position that those products are not licensed under the agreeements. For much of 2008, Intel and Nvidia worked diligently to attempt to resolve their differences regarding the scope of Nvidia's licenses and to look for alternative business solutions. This included completion of the numerous dispute resolution steps, including private mediation..."
From Nvidia's response: "...With respect to (Intel's) first and second sentences, Nvidia admits that it informed Intel of its belief that it is licensed to design, market and sell MCP chipsets compatible with the Nehalem architecture. Otherwise, Nvidia denies the allegations in the first and second sentences of this pargaraph. With respect to the third sentence, Nvidia admits that it worked diligently during 2008 to try to resolve its differences with Intel. Otherwise, Nvidia lacks knowledges sufficient to admit or deny the allegations in the third sentence and therefore denies them. Nvidia admits the allegations in the fourth sentence of the paragraph.
On Thursday and Friday, representatives for both Intel and Nvidia continued to fire warning shots.
"There is a substantial disagreement between Intel and Nvidia about their licensing rights under the agreement," Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy told Reuters. "We've been trying multiple times, multiple ways to find a way to settle the argument."
"Having breached the contract and irreparably injured Nvidia, Intel has lost the right to continue to enjoy the considerable benefit of its license to Nvidia's patent portfolio," said a Nvidia statement quoted by Reuters.
