Computer pioneer launches patent suit against Intel

A Canadian computer designer, who claims to be the inventor of the personal computer, has filed a US$500 million patent infringement suit against Intel.

A Canadian computer designer, who claims to be the inventor of the personal computer, has filed a US$500 million patent infringement suit against Intel.

Mers Kutt's Toronto-based All Computers filed the suit against Intel in US District Court in Virginia.

Kutt, now 71, designed Micro Computer machines' MCM/70 for personal use in the early 1970s, basing his invention on Intel's 8008 chip. In the lawsuit, All Computers claims that Intel violated patent rights by using All Computers' patented circuitry in Pentium processors.

Intel has reportedly dismissed the suit as 'without merit,' according to published reports.

In its court filing, All Computers seeks an injunction to block Intel from shipping products with circuitry allegedly protected by the patent.

The All Computers patent involved in the litigation is entitled, 'Apparatus and Methods for Enhancing the Performance of Personal Computers,' Patent No. 5,506,981. The patent was awarded in 1996.

Kutt designed the MCM/70 in the early 1970s. Although the initial design was based on the Intel 8008, later designs in the MCM family were based on later Intel chips.

At the time in the early 1970s, Intel was primarily a memory manufacturer and had scant interest in processors. The 8008, which was the first production microprocessor, was designed by the Datapoint Corporation of San Antonio. Intel manufactured the device.