AMD celebrates court disclosure of Intel evidence

By Alun Williams

Posted on 16 Dec 2005 at 11:59

AMD has raised the temperature over its ongoing litigation against Intel and its anti-competitive practices in Japan.

A Tokyo District Court has ruled that evidence collected by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) during its investigation of Intel should be disclosed and not kept out of public record. According to AMD, Intel had requested that evidence taken from its offices in Japan should remain out of the public record, and it describes the decision - in stinging terms - as a blow against 'Intel's illegal monopoly abuse'.

'Today's court ruling sends the message that the truth about Intel's illegal monopoly abuse will soon see the light of day,' said AMD's chief administrative officer, Thomas M. McCoy. 'We thank the court for its sound decision, and we believe that it sends a clear message worldwide that Intel cannot hope to hide the truth about its anti-competitive business practices any longer; not from the law or from consumers everywhere who deserve to know the facts.'

The documents were collected by the JFTC as part of its investigation into Intel for violating Japan's Antimonopoly Act. Intel was found guilty in March of this year.

'We believe the JFTC's evidence will show what people inside our industry already know well - that Intel abuses its monopoly position to threaten and intimidate OEMs not to do business with AMD,' said McGoy.

'What's at stake is the future of computing in a world economy that grows more dependent on microprocessors daily,' he continued. 'Consumers around across the globe are being harmed by Intel's abusive monopoly-preservation tactics through higher prices, stifled innovation and reduced choice.'

AMD Japan intends to use the JFTC's evidence as part of its law suit against Intel in Japan, which was filed at the end of June, following the earlier JFTC verdict.