Texas Instruments Inc yesterday announced separate, broad-based semiconductor patent cross-licence agreements with five Japanese manufacturers – Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Toko Inc, New Japan Radio Co Ltd, Nippon Precision Circuit Ltd and Seiko Epson Corp but said that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Sanyo Electric Co Ltd; over the terms of the five agreements, the company says, it will receive royalty payments based on worldwide sales of each company’s integrated circuits, in amounts greatly exceed the annual amounts paid under the previous agreements; the agreement with Mitsubishi is for 10 years and the others are for five years; Sanyo was sued after its legal counsel said it would start a patent suit against Texas in the US unless Texas reduced the royalties it has demanded.
