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February 28, 1999

STMICRO & INTEL SEE TRUCE WITH CROSS-PATENT AGREEMENTS

By CBR Staff Writer

STMicroelectronics NV has ended a long-standing dispute with Intel Corp with the signing of a cross-licensing agreement between the two, allowing each company to use intellectual property covered by the other’s patents. The new agreement replaces an existing license Intel originally struck with memory chip maker Mostek Corp in 1997. Those rights were acquired by STMicroelectronics (originally SGS-Thomson Microelectronics) when Mostek was acquired for $71m in 1985 by Thomson-CSF SA (CI No 316). SGS-Thomson used what appears to have been a very broad agreement to fabricate Cx486 microprocessors for Cyrix Corp, and Intel began pursuing it in the courts. The new agreement, which doesn’t involve any money changing hands, lasts for five years and puts an end to the various disputes between the two companies. Pasquale Pistorio said the agreement fits in with ST’s objective of negotiating patent licenses with semiconductor firms worldwide, and said it would finally put an end to years of costly litigation and provides the opportunity for our respective companies to work more closely together in many areas of joint interest. ST, which currently has its sights on the booming system-on-a-chip marketplace, filed for 671 patent applications last year, 20% up on the year before.

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