Intersil Corp. (Irvine, CA) offered comments on a patent-infringement lawsuit filed by Agere Systems Inc. (Allentown, PA). The lawsuit charges Intersil with infringing six patents. Agere previously agreed to make the standards-based patents available on reasonable terms and conditions. Agere's complaint states that Intersil has been utilizing the patents without any compensation to the company.
The remaining three patents cover Agere-developed wireless system technology associated with aspects of the physical layer and radio components, which are currently being used in Intersil's wireless LAN chipsets and reference designs. Agere is seeking monetary damages for Intersil's infringement of its patents and an injunction prohibiting the company from using the patents in the future.
"We are very disappointed in Agere's announcement that it had filed a lawsuit against us," said Intersil President and CEO Rich Beyer. "We feel that their claims of patent infringement are wholly without merit. We believe that our PRISM® WLAN chips do not infringe any valid and enforceable claims of the patents asserted by Agere and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against these claims."
