European probe of Intel expanded
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The European Commission on Wednesday expanded its investigation to determine whether public institutions in Europe gave an unfair advantage to Intel Corp.
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The New York attorney general has launched a formal investigation  to determine whether Intel violated antitrust laws to squeeze out AMD.
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BRUSSELS The European Commission opened legal cases against France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland on Wednesday, saying that it believed the four governments had been favoring Intel, the US computer chip maker, when awarding public contracts.
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Intel offices in Munich were raided by the European Commission on Tuesday as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation.Confirming the raids, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said the company fully cooperated with the EC. He declined further comment.The Commission inspected the premises of CPU manufacturers and PC retailers, said Jonathan Todd, spokesman for the EC, declining to comment on which companies were raided.The offices of German consumer electronics vendor Media Markt and DSG International, which runs Dixons in the U.K., were also raided, according to multiple newspaper and wire service reports.The raids relate to concerns of the abuse of a dominant market position, the EC said in a statement.&quot;Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected infringements of EC competition law,&quot; the Commission said. The inspections do not prove guilt of anticompetitive behavior or prejudge the outcome of the investigation, the Commission said.The raid comes on the heels of multiple complaints and lawsuits filed by Intel competitor Advanced Micro Devices with authorities in the European Union, U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Japan, charging Intel with monopolistic behavior.In 2006, AMD said it planned to file a complaint with German authorities regarding Intel&#39;s alleged anticompetitive behavior. AMD alleged that Intel paid German retail chain Media Markt not to stock PCs containing AMD processors, citing a letter to a supplier in which the retailer said it would only buy PCs with Intel processors.As part of ongoing inquiries into Intel&#39;s monopolistic behavior, the EC earlier raided Intel&#39;s offices in 2005. Authorities in Japan raided Intel&#39;s offices in 2004.
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(InfoWorld) - European Commission antitrust officials investigating computer chip maker Intel presented what they believe is a watertight argument for prosecuting the firm to an internal panel of so-called devil's advocates on Tuesday, a person familiar with the investigation has said. Holding their case up to the scrutiny of the panel may indicate that the officials on the case are confident enough to push ahead with legal action. The panel was recently introduced into the antitrust investigation process in order to prevent poorly prepared cases turning into formal legal proceedings. Intel has been under investigation by the commission for the past five years. With a global market share in the computer chip market of around 80 percent, the company dwarfs its nearest rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which accounts for the bulk of the remaining sales of chips around the world. Neither Intel nor the European Commission were immediately available to comment. Thomas M. McCoy, AMD's executive vice president of legal affairs, said in a recent interview he is confident the European Commission will take action to stop Intel abusing its dominance in the market. "The Intel investigation is coming to a close," he said, adding that he was confident it would result in Neelie Kroes, the competition commissioner, issuing a charge sheet, known as a statement of objections to the company. "I am optimistic she will push ahead with the lawsuit because she is independent from political pressure, both Intel and AMD are big employers in Europe, and because unlike other antitrust cases there are no complicated intellectual property issues at stake in this case," McCoy said. Last year the European Commission launched surprise visits on Intel's offices in Europe, confiscating documents in their hunt for evidence of illegal behavior. Last month the European regulator took over a separate investigation being conducted by German antitrust officials, into claims that Intel was forcing Europe's biggest computer retailer, Media Markt, only to stock computers fitted with Intel chips. Consumer groups have complained to the regulators that computer buyers are getting less choice as a result of Intel's tactics, which include granting rebates in return for loyalty from PC manufacturers. AMD's McCoy said Intel uses the threat of price increases to persuade PC makers like Sony Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. not to build PCs around AMD's chips. "Sony used to have a model running on AMD chips at any given price range but then they went 100 percent Intel. Ultimately the consumer loses through reduced choice," he said. The devil's advocate panel includes the competition department's chief economist, Damien Neven, along with colleagues in the department who aren't involved in the Intel case. If the draft case against Intel is supported by the panel, the investigating team will propose that Kroes issue a statement of objections to the company for the first time in the five years it has spent investigating Intel.
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com. In a signal from the European Commission that it is stepping up its investigation into possible illegal business practices by Intel, the commission is asking four European countries why they
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(InfoWorld) - South Korean antitrust regulators have issued preliminary allegations against IntelÂ forÂ allegedly undermining competition in its PC microprocessor market, but formal charges won't be made for at least another month. The Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC) sent a "statement of objection" to Intel, which contained preliminary allegations, said Nick Jacobs, an Intel spokesman in Singapore. The document is not a final decision, nor has it been upheld by a court. "It does not itself amount to a finding that there has been a violation of law," he said. "As such, any conclusions about our business practices are at best premature." A senior deputy director at South Korea's FTC said the investigation against Intel remains ongoing. The next step for the world's largest chip maker is to respond to the letter of objection, after which the FTC will rule on the case. South Korea could become the third place to rule on an Intel antitrust case. In 2005, Japan's Fair Trade Commission helped kick off the recent spate ofÂ investigations against IntelÂ by ruling that the company's Japan unit stifled competition by offering rebates to Japanese PC makers in return for agreements to limit purchases of or not buy rival x86 microprocessors. Earlier this year, the European Commission ruled similarly,Â alleging that Intel violated EU antitrust lawsÂ by giving rebates to customers that enabled the company to win sales from rival Advanced Micro Devices. AMD filed an antitrust suit against IntelÂ in June, 2005 at the U.S. District Court in Delaware, shortly after Japan's FTC revealed its allegations against the company. "Following formal action in Japan and Europe, global scrutiny is increasingly focused on Intel's harm to competition and consumers alike. Governments around the world must enforce antitrust laws to bring fair and open competition that will benefit computer manufacturers and buyers everywhere," said Tom McCoy, AMD's executive vice president, legal affairs and chief administrative officer, in an e-mail. (Ben Ames in Boston contributed to this report.)
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By JORDAN ROBERTSON  SAN JOSE, Calif. - Intel Corp. said Monday that it may have lost some internal e-mails that it was supposed to turn over as possible evidence in the landmark antitrust lawsuit filed by archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
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European commission opens two new investigations into suspected abuse by the software group of its dominant market position
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The special master appointed to hear evidence from both parties in the AMD v. Intel antitrust case has recommended that Intel be compelled to produce documents for evidence that it had previously declined to submit. If Judge Joseph A. Farnan, Jr., agrees, Intel may be asked to produce evidence of what AMD alleges to be "foreign misconduct" on Intel's part.
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Intel, the world's biggest computer chipmaker, is being investigated by the New York Attorney General.
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New York state launched a formal investigation on Thursday to determine if Intel Corp, the world's biggest chipmaker, violated state and U.S. antitrust laws to squeeze out rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
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Officials of the European Commission stated this morning they may be ready to pursue antitrust charges against Intel, based on information they've acquired regarding possible company misconduct in relation to the German retail electronics market.
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Intel Corp , the largest  maker of computer processors, said on Wednesday it would  respond quickly to provide additional information sought by  U.S. regulators over its plans to merge its chip unit with  STMicroelectronics .
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The European Commission has turned up the volume in its investigation of Intel's conduct, with retailers in Germany and Great Britain now confirming they've been raided -- the same retailers mentioned in AMD's civil suit against Intel.
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The South Korean business daily Maeil has confirmed that the country's Fair Trade Commission has not only concluded its antitrust investigation against Intel, but has filed a statement of objections against the CPU maker. This after some US press sources had taken the headline of Korea's story, "Korea Closes Intel Investigation," too literally.
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Andrew M. Cuomo issued a wide-ranging subpoena to Intel as part of an investigation into whether the company violated federal or state antitrust laws in the way it priced and sold microprocessors.