X
Business

Rivals say AMD/Intel MMX war will go on

Both Cyrix and Intel believe AMD is "not out of the hot water" in the MMX trademark case.
Written by Martin Veitch, Contributor

While AMD took its battle to the courts, Cyrix did a deal with Intel which allowed it to use the MMX term with proper attribution. "What it comes down to is ensuring that we and our customers can use the MMX trademark in promotional and marketing materials without fear of litigation," said Steve Tobak, VP of corporate marketing at the Texan company. "What we've agreed to is that MMX is a trademark of Intel and [that attribution] sits at the bottom of the page [on materials]. It's a give and take."

Tobak stressed that this week's ruling denying Intel a temporary restraining order (TRO) did not mean AMD was scot-free. "The bigger issue is the [injunction] Intel is seeking later in April. AMD is not out of the hot water. A TRO is for emergency situations and we did not expect Intel to succeed."

An Intel UK spokeswoman confirmed today that the fight goes on. "The TRO was very much a preliminary step," she said. "We're not downbeat. We've asked for an injunction on April 29 and we're also seeking a full trial with a jury." No date has been set for the jury trial.

Separately, Cyrix's Tobak said he expects the firm's M2 processor to ship in late May or early June in P-160, P-200 and P-233 versions. Cyrix is unsure as to whether the numbers will refer to clock speed or equivalent performance compared to a Pentium Pro, Tobak said. The chips will initially be targeted at mainstream consumer desktop PCs.

Editorial standards