Former Microsoft CTO's firm files patent lawsuits
Intellectual Ventures, a patent portfolio developer and broker started by former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold, has filed patent lawsuits against nine tech companies, including Symantec, McAfee and Hynix Semiconductor. Intellectual Ventures filed three patent infringement lawsuits Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, the company announced.
The first lawsuit targets software security vendors Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and Check Point Software Technologies. The second lawsuit targets DRAM (dynamic RAM) and Flash memory vendors Hynix and Elpida Memory. The third names FPGA (field-programmable gate array) vendors Altera, Lattice Semiconductor, and Microsemi, which recently acquired Actel and its FPGA business.
"Over the years, Intellectual Ventures has successfully negotiated license agreements with some of the top technology companies in the world," Melissa Finocchio, chief litigation counsel for Intellectual Ventures, said in a statement. "However, some companies have chosen to ignore our requests for good faith negotiations and discussions. Protecting our invention rights through these actions is the right choice for our investors, inventors and current licensees."
