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Intel hires antitrust specialist as new general counsel

by Sylvie Barak on 16 November 2009, 09:09

Tags: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

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Everything fine

Meanwhile in 2008, South Korean regulators slapped Intel with a fine of $25 million for allegedly paying two PC makers not to buy chips from AMD, which may have spurred a U.S. Federal Trade Commission antitrust probe into Intel later that year.

Then, this year Intel was given a painful blow when the European Commission declared it was indeed guilty of abusing its market dominance to exclude AMD, fining the firm $1.45 billion, or 1.06 billion Euros. Intel is still appealing that case. 

When that verdict hit, Intel had just embarked on its 'sponsors of tomorrow' campaign. European commissioner for competition, Neelie Kroes, really twisted the knife when she declared in her judgment "I can give my vision of tomorrow for Intel here and now: Obey the law."

Even after settling this case with AMD, Intel still faces charges leveled against it by the Attorney General of New York, Andrew Cuomo, who recently filed an 87-page complaint, which looks very similar to the AMD case filed in Delaware back in June 2005.

Despite Otellini's claims that the case is "entirely without merit," Melamed will most probably have his hands full fighting Intel's corner, whilst also keeping the Federal US antitrust bodies at bay.

Good luck to him.

 



HEXUS Forums :: 2 Comments

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Sounds a bit suspect to me hiring an antitrust expert. Surely his job will be to find loopholes to allow intel to keep pressuring customer to make things difficult for AMD? Wouldnt a better outcome of the recent court case be for Intel to play nice and stop illegally bribing people?!
Sippin40oz
Sounds a bit suspect to me hiring an antitrust expert. Surely his job will be to find loopholes to allow intel to keep pressuring customer to make things difficult for AMD? Wouldnt a better outcome of the recent court case be for Intel to play nice and stop illegally bribing people?!

IBM used an antitrust team in the past as internal police. Their remit was to block any potential monopoly abuse within IBM regardless of cost.
The problem with a big company is that senior managers may decide that the risk of being caught out in monopoly abuse is balanced against huge profits that can be made. Having internal Police reduces that.