SiliconBeat

Shares of VirnetX, the developer of Internet-calling and instant messaging software that sued Microsoft in 2007 claiming the software giant infringed three of its patents, doubled in value today after the Scotts Valley company reported that the federal court hearing the suit had issued a “Markman” order that adopted interpretations of the patent claim language that it Read the rest of this entry »

VirnetX, the Scotts Valley supplier of tools for securing real-time communications over the Internet, has hired a Texas-based law firm with a track record of fighting Microsoft in court to represent it in its current suit against the software giant.

McKool Smith will now lead VirnetX’s litigation effort in a suit brought against Microsoft in February 2007 Read the rest of this entry »

Marvell Technology, the Bermuda-based chip company that operates out of Santa Clara, said today that it has agreed to resolve a shareholder class action lawsuit filed in August 2007 related to the way the company granted stock options in the past.

The company will pay $72 million and has decided Read the rest of this entry »

Exponent, which bills itself as “an engineering and scientific consulting firm that provides solutions to complex problems”, may have to forego $740,000 owed it by Chrysler, the troubled (is there any other kind these days?) auto manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

The fact was noted in the company’s quarterly financial form known as a 10-Q, which it filed Wednesday. Exponent said that the ultimate loss, Read the rest of this entry »

Adept Technology, the Livermore maker of manufacturing robotics, is set to go to court Sept. 16 to try and stop its eviction from its headquarter facilities in the Tri-Valley Technology Center on Triad Drive, according to one of its SEC filings Wednesda. It’s landlord, who gave the company notice back in April that it wished to terminate its lease, and saying that the company owed it a $1 million “termination fee.” The July deadline came and went with Adept still occupying the space. A second termination notice was served giving the company until Aug. 26 to vacacte the premises, which Adept still has not done. Read the rest of this entry »

Tessera Technologies, the San Jose developer of electronics miniaturization technologies, said it has a new chief executive, “effective immediately”, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Taking over is Hank Nothhaft, currently vice chairman of Tessera’s board.

Outgoing CEO Bruce McWilliams, who is “transitioning to a new role as Read the rest of this entry »

3Com said in a filing today it has filed suit against Bain Capital Partners Thursday in an effort to collect a $66 million “termination fee” it says it is owed from the private equity firm after Bain terminated its planned acquisition of the former Silicon Valley company that’s now headquartered in Marlborough, Mass.

The $2.2 billion deal agreed to last September was terminated by Bain in March, a day before Read the rest of this entry »

General counsels of several Silicon Valley corporations are in the vanguard of critics railing against changes being proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board “”that would force public companies to disclose more about the risks of litigation,” judging by the sources in this story by Zusha Elinson of the San Francisco Recorder.

“Under the revised rules for FASB Statement No. 5,” Elinson writes, “the threshold for reporting the potential loss from a lawsuit would be lowered from ‘probable’ to Read the rest of this entry »

Rambus said it intends to “reduce our current cost structure through actions which may include downsizing our workforce” after reporting a 25 percent drop in sales for its second quarter compared with the year-before quarter, according to its earnings release this afternoon.

The company’s net loss ballooned to Read the rest of this entry »

Monolithic Power says it was victorious in a contract dispute with Linear Technology, according to a press release it sent out late Tuesday evening.

Monolithic did not breach an October 1, 2005, agreement with Linear Technology that was a subject of the litigation, according to the release. Nor did it “willfully infringe” against the patent claims in the case of two patents asserted by Linear that were used in a Monolithic Power product that had been discontinued “more than 18 months earlier.”

However, Read the rest of this entry »