A company called X2Y Attenuators has sued Intel, Apple, and HP, accusing the three tech giants of violating five patents owned by X2Y — the company filed a companion complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission that seeks to block the importation of Intel’s Core i7 processor, as well as computers made by Apple and HP that use these infringing processors.
X2Y is based in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the suit was filed the Western District of Pennsylvania. According to Bloomberg, all five patents are in areas covering ways of overcoming electromagnetic interference. X2Y alleges that Intel is using the techniques covered by the patents in its processor line, and it named the Core i7 as “one such microprocessor.” The wording of the suit allows for other processors to also be included.
X2Y has already successfully licensed these patents for use in satellite radios, military aircraft and noise-canceling headphones, and the company said in its complaint that it has tried to get Intel to pay licensing fees, as well.
Apple and HP clearly do not make Intel Core i7 processors — and Apple’s own line of A4 and A5 processors are not named in the suit — but because they use Intel’s processors, X2Y is asserting they need to pay licensing fees, too.
The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages for the “irreparable” injury done to the company by the infringement, while the ITC complaint seeks to block the importation of Intel’s Core i7 processor, as well as Apple’s 27” iMac and Hewlett-Packard’s TouchSmart 610 Series personal computer. As with Intel’s processor, the two devices from Apple and HP are listed merely as examples of the infringement, and not the sum total of all infringing devices.
You can view the court filings on Scribd (thanks to Electronista for the link).