Judge dismisses key part of AMD antitrust lawsuit against Intel

AP ^ | 9/27/6 | JORDAN ROBERTSON

[SmithL]

A federal judge dismissed a major portion of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s antitrust lawsuit against archrival Intel Corp., ruling that AMD cannot sue in the U.S. for Intel's alleged monopolistic tactics overseas.

The judge also set a trial date of April 27, 2009 for AMD to argue that Intel forced major customers into exclusive deals and offered secret rebates to undercut AMD in the market for microprocessors that act as the brains of computers.

U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. set the 2009 trial date Wednesday, a day after stripping a key component from AMD's lawsuit, which alleges anticompetitive practices in several countries including Britain, Germany and Japan.

On Tuesday, the Delaware-based judge ruled that AMD failed to prove that Intel's alleged strong-arm tactics abroad had "direct, substantial and foreseeable effects" on AMD's operations in the United States.

Santa Clara-based Intel, the world's largest computer chip maker, argued that AMD should not be able to sue in the U.S. for alleged lost sales of microprocessors that were made and sold in other countries. It also argued that part of AMD's case should be dismissed because AMD was seeking redress abroad for "foreign commerce claims."

AMD, which filed its lawsuit in June 2005, maintains that the market for microprocessors is global and that Intel's conduct domestically and abroad are inextricably linked.

The ruling was a big win for Intel but much of the case remains intact.

[Echo Talon]

U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. set the 2009 trial date

2009? whoa... the right to a speedy trial? LOL