A chip comes in from the cold: tales of high-tech spying; did French moles steal secrets from Texas Instruments, or is the story just Bull?

Article Abstract:

Texas Instruments (TI) and French computer maker Cie. des Machines Bull reached an out-of-court settlement during the week ending Jan 20, 1995, in a chip patent infringement suit that included allegations that the French government planted a spy within TI in the late 1970s. Details of the intriguing case came to light when the French government-owned Bull filed a suit against TI in the US in 1993, charging that TI's TMS 370 chip infringed upon a Bull patent. TI officials responded by claiming that they invented the chip and charged that Bull only had it because the firm had planted a spy, Jean Pierre Dolait, inside TI in the late 1970s. Dolait worked at TI from 1976 to 1989 and was suspected of passing on technical data from TI on to French intelligence agents. The FBI conducted an investigation into Dolait's activities and reportedly concluded that he and several other French citizens acted as moles within the French subsidiaries of US companies during the 1970s and 1980s. Officials at Bull deny receiving any stolen data.

Semiconductor Devices, Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing, Compagnie des Machines Bull, Patent Copyright Issue, Texas Instruments TMS370 (Microprocessor)

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Tandy Corp. sues Texas Instruments

Article Abstract:

Tandy Corp files a complaint in US District Court for the Northern District of California accusing Texas Instruments (TI) of fraudulently claiming certain microprocessor technologies. Tandy also accused TI of violating antitrust laws by demanding unreasonably high royalty payments and by requiring Tandy to buy licenses it did not need in order to obtain other TI technologies. It is not certain that Tandy will prevail in court, but industry observers think the lawsuit could work against TI's strategy of using legal threats to make money from its technologies. Vigorous enforcement of patent rights has paid off for TI, which has collected an estimated $100 million a year in royalties from Japanese and South Korean companies for a basic memory-chip technology.

Electronic computers, Computer industry, RadioShack Corp., TAN, Licensing, Antitrust Laws, Patent

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Five chip firms sued by Texas Instruments Inc.: patent-infringement claims ask royalties for use of encasing procedure

Article Abstract:

Texas Instruments Inc files suit against five semiconductor firms, alleging the five are guilty of using patented techniques and not paying royalties. The five firms named in the suit are Analog Devices Inc, Cypress Semiconductor Corp, Integrated Device Technology Inc, LSI Logic Corp and VLSI Technology Inc. The suit claims the five are using a process patented in 1977 for encasing the integrated circuits in plastic. While not a major part of production, using an alternative method would be quite costly for the manufacturers, say analysts. Estimates as to the amount of royalties Texas Instruments could hope for range as high as a penny a chip for the 20 billion or so chips in question.

Semiconductor chips, Integrated circuits, Copyrights, Intellectual property, Patents, Patent/Copyright Issue, Semiconductor Preparation

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