Intellectual Ventures, a patent portfolio developer and broker started by former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold, has filed patent lawsuits against nine tech companies, including Symantec, McAfee and Hynix Semiconductor.

Xilinx, which makes a range of chips often used in communications gear, plans to release its first 28-nanometer chips by the fourth quarter of this year to lower costs and attract new customers as the world pulls out of recession.

Texas Instruments pulled down its profit forecast for the December quarter by as much as two-thirds on Monday, and it also cut its revenue expectations, saying the economic downturn is having a powerful impact on the market for its chips.