Intellectual Ventures has filed patent lawsuits against nine tech companies. The first lawsuit targets software security vendors Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and Check Point. The second lawsuit targets DRAM and flash memory vendors Hynix and Elpida. The third names FPGA vendors Altera, Lattice and Microsemi, which recently acquired Actel and its FPGA business.

A person familiar with the situation said earlier the company plans to raise up to US$300 million in the IPO.

The SLE 78 chip in the new German ID card has been certified by the Germany Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Infineon developed the chips for the ID card in Neubiberg near Munich, Germany.

Texas Instruments has narrowed its fourth-quarter financial forecasts that match analysts' projection, citing higher demand for communications equipment.

Swarms of cameras, microphones and reporters with earpieces dangling were buzzing around outside the court, trying to figure out which entrance Wikileaks editor and founder Assange nd his legal team would use.

Nokia is attempting to shore up its defences against smartphone rivals with a cost-cutting programme that will see the number of UK service centres cut by a third.

Advantest offered US$12.15 a share, a 33% premium over the closing price on December 3, for the company's 60 million outstanding shares, according to a statement from Verigy. Verigy rejected the unsolicited offer and was open to continued talks, the Singapore-based company said.

Samsung is a big beneficiary of Android's rise, selling more than 3 million Galaxy S phones, and capturing the mantle as leading Android handset provider in the U.S. by accounting for a third of all Android phones sold in the country.

What a long, strange trip it's been for the South Korea-US free trade agreement. The two sides announced this weekend that they've reached a deal on revisions to the draft that was signed in 2007 but never ratified. It comes not a moment too soon, given the boost this will give to a US economy stumbling its way to recovery and with tensions rising on the Korean peninsula.

India's government is in discussions with companies that use BlackBerry to gain access to employees' secure communications when seen as necessary, said a top Indian official.