Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. v. Intel Corp.
CourtUnited States District Court for the District of Delaware
Full case nameIn re Intel Corp. Microprocessor Antitrust Litigation
Docket nos.1:05-cv-00441
1:05-md-01717
Citation(s)496 F. Supp. 2d 404 (D. Del. 2007)
Case history
Prior action(s)Consolidated, In re Intel Corp. Microprocessor Antitrust Litig., 403 F. Supp. 2d 1356 (J.P.M.L. 2005)
Court membership
Judge(s) sittingJoseph James Farnan Jr.

AMD v. Intel was a private antitrust lawsuit, filed in the United States by Advanced Micro Devices ("AMD") against Intel Corporation in June 2005.

History

AMD launched the lawsuit against its rival Intel, the world's leading microprocessor manufacturer. AMD has claimed that Intel engaged in unfair competition by offering rebates to Japanese PC manufacturers who agreed to eliminate or limit purchases of microprocessors made by AMD or a smaller manufacturer, Transmeta.[1]

The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in June 2005. The case was consolidated with thirteen other antitrust suits against Intel by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in November 2005.[2] In July 2007, U.S. District Judge Joseph James Farnan Jr. largely denied Intel's motion to dismiss.[3] The court date, originally scheduled for April 2009, was pushed back to February 2010.

In February 2009 it was reported that Intel had spent at least $116 million to date on legal representation on the antitrust suit. This was inferred from a $50 million lawsuit filed by Intel against one of its insurers; the lawsuit disclosed that Intel had already exhausted $66 million in coverage from two other insurers while fighting the antitrust lawsuit.[4]

Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras blocked an inquiry into the matter until her departure in March 2008.[5] In June 2008, new FTC Chairman William Kovacic opened an investigation.[6]

This was not the first time AMD has accused Intel Corp. of abusing their power as the leading manufacturer for x86 processors. In 1991, AMD filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel claiming that they were trying to secure and maintain a monopoly.[7] One year later, a court ruled against Intel, awarding AMD $10 million "plus a royalty-free license to any Intel patents used in AMD's own x86-style processor".[8]

Agreement

In November 2009, Intel agreed to pay AMD $1.25 billion as part of a deal to settle all outstanding legal disputes between the two companies.[9][10][11]

That week, Andrew Cuomo, then the Attorney General of New York, who had access to the 200 million documents in discovery and 2,200 hours of witness depositions from the private lawsuit, filed another antitrust lawsuit under similar allegations.[12] That lawsuit was ultimately settled in 2012 by Cuomo's successor for $6.5 million.[13]

In December 2009, the FTC sued Intel.[14] On August 4, 2010, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz reached a settlement agreement with Intel in which the company agreed to modify its rebate practices and establish a $10 million fund for misled customers.[15][16]

International actions

In 2005, the Japan Fair Trade Commission issued Intel a cease and desist order.[17] On June 4, 2008, Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Intel US$25.4 million for giving Samsung rebates to not use AMD processors.[18] Some of the manufacturers involved in the case were Dell, HP, Gateway, Acer, Fujitsu, Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi.[19][20]

In May 2009, the European Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes, fined Intel a record $1.45 billion and ordered it to end its customer rebate program.[21][22]

In 2022 the €1.06 billion fine was dropped, but was successively re-imposed in September 2023 as a €376.36 million fine. [23]

References

  1. ^ Michael Singer; Dawn Kawamoto. "AMD files antitrust suit against Intel". CNET. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
  2. ^ In re Intel Corp. Microprocessor Antitrust Litig., 403 F. Supp. 2d 1356 (J.P.M.L. 2005).
  3. ^ In re Intel Corp. Microprocessor Antitrust Litig., 496 F. Supp. 2d 404 (D. Del. 2007).
  4. ^ "Intel Sues an Insurer Over Litigation Costs", Clark, Don.The Wall Street Journal, Monday, February 2, 2009, page B7.
  5. ^ Labaton, Stephen (October 22, 2007). "F.T.C. Chief Balks at Intel Inquiry". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Labaton, Stephen (June 7, 2008). "In Turnabout, Antitrust Unit Looks at Intel". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  7. ^ 756 F. Supp. 1292 (1991) INTEL CORPORATION, Plaintiff, v. ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC., Defendant. And Related Counterclaims
  8. ^ Michael Singer. "Intel and AMD: A long history in court", CNET.com, June 28, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
  9. ^ US chip maker Intel has agreed to pay rival AMD $1.25bn as part of a deal to settle all outstanding legal disputes between the two companies. "[1] Archived 2009-11-15 at the Wayback Machine"
  10. ^ Juliana Gruenwald. "Intel Settles Lawsuit With AMD Archived January 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine", NationalJournal.com, Tech Daily Dose, Thursday, November 12, 2009.
  11. ^ In re Intel Corp. Microprocessor Antitrust Litig. (Settlement Agreement Between Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corporation) (D. Del. November 11, 2009).
  12. ^ Lohr, Steve; Kanter, James (November 13, 2009). "Intel Pays A.M.D. $1.25 Billion to Settle Disputes". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  13. ^ Freifeld, Karen; Stempel, Jonathan (February 9, 2012). "Intel settles NY antitrust case for just $6.5 million". Reuters. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  14. ^ Lohr, Steve (December 17, 2009). "F.T.C. Accuses Intel of Trying to Stifle Competition". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  15. ^ Wyatt, Edward; Vance, Ashlee (August 5, 2010). "Intel Settles With F.T.C. on Antitrust Complaint". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  16. ^ "FTC Settles Charges of Anticompetitive Conduct Against Intel". Federal Trade Commission (Press release). August 4, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  17. ^ The Editorial Board (June 15, 2008). "Editorial: The Intel Antitrust Investigation". The New York Times. p. WK11.
  18. ^ "South Korea to Fine Intel $25.4 Million for Trade Violations". The New York Times. The Associated Press. June 5, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  19. ^ Ann Steffora Mutschler. "Intel, AMD antitrust trial pushed back", Electronic News, June 6, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
  20. ^ Arik Hesseldahl. "AMD Files Antitrust Suit Against Intel", Forbes, June 28, 2006. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
  21. ^ Kanter, James (May 13, 2009). "Europe Fines Intel a Record $1.45 Billion in Antitrust Case". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  22. ^ "Case search – Competition - 37990 Intel". ec.europa.eu. European Commission. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  23. ^ "Antitrust: Commission re-imposes €376.36 million fine on Intel for anticompetitive practices in the market for computer chips". ec.europa.eu. September 23, 2023. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
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