FTC files antitrust suit against Intel - Isn't Intel Above the Law

" The U.S. Federal Trade Commission accused Intel Corp. in a lawsuit Wednesday of illegally trying to keep competitors out of the semiconductor market.

Santa Clara-based Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) systematically kept rivals' chips from being used through illegal strategies, the government said in its complaint.

In the complaint, the FTC has asked for the court to order Intel to stop using threats, bundled prices and other tactics aimed at manipulating the market.

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Intel was trying to head off a federal complaint by discussing how it prices its products. That doesn't appear to have worked.

Both Sunnyvale-based Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD) and Santa Clara-based Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) have leveled unfair pricing accusations against Intel, complaining that it offers big incentives to customers who buy its chips only.

Intel last month announced it would pay AMD a $1.25 billion settlement and agreed to a five-year cross license deal to settle their long-running antitrust and patent disputes.
That followed a record $1.45 billion fine levied earlier this year by European Union regulators for anticompetitive practices by Intel. The company is appealing that fine.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has also sued Intel, accusing the computer company of violating state and federal antitrust laws.

Cuomo alleged that Intel bullied clients and paid them billions of dollars to use Intel’s computer microprocessor parts instead of those from AMD.

In a prepared statement Wednesday, Intel said it has competed fairly and lawfully and called FTC’s case "misguided. It is based largely on claims that the FTC added at the last minute and has not investigated. In addition, it is explicitly not based on existing law but is instead intended to make new rules for regulating business conduct. These new rules would harm consumers by reducing innovation and raising prices.”

Intel senior vice president and general counsel Doug Melamed added, “This case could have, and should have, been settled. Settlement talks had progressed very far but stalled when the FTC insisted on unprecedented remedies -- including the restrictions on lawful price competition and enforcement of intellectual property rights set forth in the complaint -- that would make it impossible for Intel to conduct business.

“The FTC’s rush to file this case will cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars to litigate issues that the FTC has not fully investigated. It is the normal practice of antitrust enforcement agencies to investigate the facts before filing suit. The Commission did not do that in this case,” said Melamed."

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