Intel wins patent appeal against N-Data

A woman walks past an Intel logo at the 2012 Computex in Taipei June 5, 2012. Computex, the world's second largest consumer electronics trade fair, runs from June 5 to 9.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Intel Corp. won an appeal in a patent fight with Negotiated Data Solutions LLC (N-Data) over Ethernet patents that make it possible for computers to easily talk to one another.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Monday that Intel did not infringe the patents because it had licensed them from National Semiconductor Corp in 1976. National had assigned the patents to Vertical Networks Inc in 1998, which assigned them to N-Data.

Based on the licensing agreement, Intel won the case in a Texas court on summary judgment. The appeals court agreed.

N-Data had also sued Dell Inc, which settled in 2009.

The case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is Intel Corp. v Negotiated Data Solutions, Inc., No. 2011-1448.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)