Intel Settles 09 NY Antitrust Case

From DailyTech: Is Intel Corp.'s days in the antitrust doghouse finally over? A settlement has come in one of the last antitrust cases against the world's top maker of personal computer CPUs. The settlement may close an important chapter in Intel's history -- one that saw it consolidate a dominant position, yet be universally criticized for what numerous parties called blatant antitrust violation.

In the middle of the last decade CPU maker Intel Corp. (INTC) has been accused by governments worldwide -- and its competitors -- of using threats and kickbacks to convince computer makers to hang on to its dominant position. The allegedly anticompetitive tactics paid off; Intel was bought the time to rejuvenate its product line. The chipmaker went from lagging behind Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s (AMD) Opteron and Athlon 64 designs to coming back strong solidifying its lead during the new core war.

Intel reportedly threaten to cut shipments to computermakers who used AMD chips too, and offered payments and discounts to those who complied. It also reportedly sought to pressure retailers to fix the price of its CPUs in some regions.

While few would argue that the tactics weren't worth it from a pure financial perspective, Intel has paid somewhat for its approach, fined €1.06B ($1.45B 2009 USD) by the EU [source]. In 2009 it also paid $1.25B USD to AMD to settle a U.S. antitrust lawsuit. In 2010 the U.S. Fair Trade Commission only gave it a tiny fine, but as part of the settlement forced Intel to sign an agreement to play fair in the future or face stiff fines. And in 2011 it paid $1.5B USD to NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA), a graphics rival, whom it also allegedly harmed.

The settlements may not amount to a legal admission of guilt, but they do offer a strong indication that Intel acknowledged it was doing at least some of the anticompetitive and underhanded tactics its smaller rivals and government regulators alleged. If Intel was truly playing fair, it would undoubtedly have fought the charges more vigorously.

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