AMD said on June 28 (local time) that it has lodged an anti-trust lawsuit with a federal court in Delaware of the US, accusing Intel of resorting to malpractice in the X86 microprocessor market and illegitimate competition.

AMD said Intel stopped some victim companies from using AMD products either by offering discount or by threats. AMD CEO Hector Ruiz said in any place of the world the consumer has the right to choose products freely. However, Intel obstructed the normal competition of the microprocessor market.

According to Reuters report AMD provided a list of 38 victim companies. Some of them are large computer manufacturers, some are small system developers. There are also wholesalers and retailers. These companies were forced to use Intel products under duress from Intel. The clients listed in the AMD petition, which are suspected of being bribed or coerced by Intel, also includes such renowned companies as IBM, HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba and GatewayInc. (GTW) etc.

Intel's spokesperson TomBeer-man said the company has not seen the complaint. He only said that he believes the company's practice is fair and conforms to the federal anti-trust law.

As early as March the Japanese Fair Trade Commission ruled that Intel violated the country's anti-monopoly law because it coerced PC manufacturers to adopt its chips and unfairly attacked its rivals' competition status in the market. Moreover, the EU Commission also said it conducted similar anti-monopoly investigation on Intel.

According to a Dow Jones Newswires report AMD's 48-page complaint might give rise to a debate on Intel's marketing subsidies. For computer manufacturers, which have small profit margin, this kind of subsidies has become their main support. If the court gives a ruling outlawing this kind of marketing practices some companies dominating the market may loss a very important tool to win over the loyalty of clients.

By People's Daily Online