According to the complaint, Dell, Sony, Hitachi and many others
were forced into signing Intel-exclusive deals in return for
outright cash payments, discriminatory pricing or marketing
subsidies.
Other customers, including NEC, Acer and Fujitsu, were coerced
into partial exclusivity agreements by conditioning rebates,
allowances and market development funds on their agreement to limit
or forgo purchases from AMD, says the complaint.
Intel is also accused of establishing a system of discriminatory
and retroactive incentives, and of threatening retaliation against
customers for introducing AMD computer platforms.
According to AMD, in 2000, the then Compaq CEO, Michael Capellas, told the
firm that because of the volume of business given to AMD, Intel had
withheld delivery of critical server chips. Saying “he had a gun to
his head,” he told the firm he had to stop buying.
AMD also reports Gateway executives as saying that Intel had
beaten them into "guacamole” in retaliation for dealings with
AMD.
Other concerns outlined in the complaint include the
establishment of quotas, forcing PC makers and tech partners to
boycott AMD product launches or promotions, and forcing technical
standards and products onto the market with the intention of
handicapping AMD in the marketplace.
Intel has been the subject of several antitrust investigations
in the past.
In March, the Fair Trade Commission of Japan found that Intel
had abused its monopoly power by offering rebates and discounts to
five Japanese PC makers on condition that they stop or restrict the
number of chips they bought from Intel's rivals.
A similar investigation by the European Commission is
ongoing.
Thomas McCoy, AMD executive vice president, legal affairs and
chief administrative officer, said: "You don’t have to take our
word for it when it comes to Intel’s abuses; the Japanese
government condemned Intel for its exclusionary and illegal
misconduct.”
He continued:
"We encourage regulators around the world to
take a close look at the market failure and consumer harm Intel’s
business practices are causing in their nations. Intel maintains
illegal monopoly profits at the expense of consumers and computer
manufacturers, whose margins are razor thin. Now is the time for
consumers and the industry worldwide to break free from the abusive
Intel monopoly.”
Intel has made no comment.
