Transmeta sues Intel over patents

Updated All your chips are belong to us

By INQUIRER newsdesk: Thursday 12 October 2006, 08:41

TRANSMETA has filed a lawsuit against Intel over ten alleged patent infringements.

The firm says Intel has shipped chips worth some $100 billion that use the patented Transmeta technology.

Specifically, the chips involved are the Pentium III, Pentium 4, Pentium M, Core and Core 2. There is a long list of the patents in question in the complaint, a PDF of which can be found below.

However, it seems to be all down to power. Transmeta reckons that Intel's "enhanced SpeedStep", which slows slows down a chip when not in use to cut power consumption, was its idea.

Transmeta claims that Intel nicked instruction scheduling and other microarchitecture bits and pieces. Some of these patents, Transmeta claimed, were placed almost a decade ago.

Transmeta had a crack at releasing a low power version chip called Crusoe which was designed to take on Intel in the mobile market.

Despite the fact that Transmeta's Crusoe chip tanked, it scared the pants off Chipzilla. Intel created notebook microprocessor Banias when it realised that it in danger of falling behind Transmeta.

Chief technology officer Pat Gelsinger admitted Intel was "asleep at the wheel" and "Transmeta was a bit of a wake up call." Again the problem was power management. The complaint is here. µ