Today in federal district court AMD has filed an Anti-Trust lawsuit against Intel. A few of the things that AMD is alleging include:
[list]
[*]Forcing major customers to accept exclusive deals,
[*]Withholding rebates and marketing subsidies as a means of punishing customers who buy more than prescribed quantities of processors from AMD,
[*]Threatening retaliation against customers doing business with AMD,
[*]Establishing quotas keeping retailers from selling the computers they want, and
[*]Forcing PC makers to boycott AMD product launches.
[/list]
I think most people assumed that Intel used their weight to keep themselves on top, but the fact that AMD continues to eat into the market share is a testament to their strength as a company. As for Intel, I have a feeling there will be some changes. I also forsee lower pricing for consumers, which is never a bad thing.
For you legal junkies, you can head over to AMD’s website to read the full [url=http://www.amd.com/us-en/Weblets/0,,7832_12670_12684,00.html?redir=CORBF02]announcement[/url].
