Intel vs. AMD Pushed Back to 2010

The trial date for AMD's long-running antitrust case against chipmaker Intel has been pushed back to February of 2010, as both companies move to depose witnesses.

Back in 2005, chipmaker AMD sued rival Intel, claiming the company unlawfully maintained a monopoly in the microprocessor market by coercing its customers to stay away from AMD and its products. AMD filed similar antitrust motions in other markets around the world—in fact, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission just ruled in AMD’s favor—but the case in the United States has been dragging on and on, as both sides file motions and bring in high-powered attorneys to manage their cases. Intel denies any wrongdoing.

Now, both sides have announced that date for their trial has been pushed back from April 2009 to February 2010, with both sides divvying up some 250 days to depose witnesses. Intel had sought to limit depositions to 75 witnesses per side, but AMD wanted to depose some 486 individuals, including Edward Ho, an Intel employee in China that AMD hopes will help the company prove their antitrust case.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has had an informal investigation underway since 2006, looking into whether Intel abused its position in the microprocessor market—the FTC just issued a subpoena enabling it to access records from both Intel and other parties. The New York state attorney general opened a formal probe of Intel in January 2008.

The European Commission has also charged Intel with anticompetitive behavior related to rebates and incentive programs apparently designed to drive AMD out of the market, and in 2005 Japan’s Fair Trade Commission ruled Intel’s practices had violated its antimonopoly laws; Intel avoided trial by accepting the commission’s recommendation, but did not agree with the finding.