Chip giant Intel faces further legal scrutiny after being hit with an antitrust lawsuit in the United States.
The world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, based out of Santa Clara, California, is being sued by the Attorney General of New York, Andrew Cuomo, who has accused the company of using "illegal threats and collusion" to monopolise the computer processor market.
In an 87-page complaint, Cuomo's suit accuses Intel of engaging "in a systematic worldwide campaign of illegal, exclusionary conduct to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for x86 microprocessors".
"By exacting exclusive or near-exclusive agreements from large computer makers in exchange for payments totalling billions of dollars, and threatening retaliation against any company that did not heed its wishes, Intel robbed its competitors of the opportunity to challenge Intel’s dominance in key segments of the market. This illegal behaviour was highly detrimental to consumers, competition, and innovation," it adds.
Cuomo's suit quotes e-mail conversations from a number of the industry's leading computer manufacturers. According to the filing, an IBM executive in 2005 is alleged to have wrote "I understand the point about the accounts wanting a full AMD portfolio. The question is, can we afford to accept the wrath of Intel…? It is a very hard question to deal with."
Earlier this year, Intel was fined €1.06 billion by the European Commission for paying computer manufacturers not to launch products containing chips from rival AMD.
Intel has responded to the latest accusation, stating that it "disagrees with the New York attorney general".
"Neither consumers - who have consistently benefited from lower prices and increased innovation - nor justice are being served by filing a case now. Intel will defend itself," said the company in a statement.
Rival manufacturer AMD, meanwhile, has welcomed the lawsuit, with Tom McCoy, AMD Executive Vice President Legal, Corporate and Public Affairs, stating:
"The New York Attorney General ’s 83-page complaint, filed on behalf of New York State consumers and governmental entities, details explicit evidence of Intel’s harm to U.S. consumers and computer manufacturers. Stopping that illegal harm will serve the settled purpose of the American antitrust laws: ensuring that innovation is unconstrained and competition is free to serve consumers."
