Posted on 06/05/2008 1:09:30 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Korea Fines Intel $25 Million for Antitrust Violations
Steven Schwankert and Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service
Wed Jun 4, 11:10 PM ET
The Korea Fair Trade Commission has fined Intel a reported 26 billion won (US$25.42 million) for abusing its dominant position in the microprocessor market, by offering rebates to South Korean computer makers in a way that unfairly harmed its rival Advanced Micro Devices.
Intel said it was unhappy with the ruling and indicated that it will appeal it to the high court in Seoul. Bruce Sewell, Intel general counsel, said Intel believes the Fair Trade Commission did not give full consideration to the evidence it presented.
"When we get to a court where we have a real judge looking at this, that [will be] good for us, and we have a right to do that," Sewell said.
The Commission issued a summary of its findings Thursday. The full findings are expected to be published in 30 to 60 days. Intel will then have 30 days to review them, after which it can file an appeal to the high court in Seoul.
The KFTC said Intel offered rebates to Korean PC makers including Samsung Electronics and Trigem Computer, if they did not also buy chips from AMD, according to various reports. The KFTC couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
KFTC officials first began looking into Intel's business practices in 2005, continuing the investigation with an "unscheduled visit" to Intel's South Korea offices in February 2006.
Last September the Commission issued its preliminary antitrust charges, known as a "statement of objections." Intel denied any wrongdoing.
The KFTC has shown no reluctance in the past to taking on large corporations that it found to have engaged in anticompetitive practices. In 2005, it fined Microsoft $34 million, and required that the company sell a Windows version in Korea that did not bundle instant messaging or Windows Media Player software.
Ping!
Re the Headline. North or South ?
S. Korea.
Reckon AMD was ‘hoping for a change’?
In a related note, stagnation in computer industry is exemplified by choke-hold of Microsoft and Intel in PC-operating system and CPU chip respectively.
I agree. I like some of the recent AMD chips. They run very cool. They are also better for running Windows in a free Unix virtual machine. ...facilitates running a poor commercial system for contracts with large businesses while accessing the Net only with free Unix hosts. ;-)
You are 100% correct on the choke hold. MS is more worried about maintaining its market share than they are about innovative secure OS and apps.
Case in point, back in the 90's Intel produced and sold a faulty chip line called the Pentium, it's built in Math co-processor(they were separate chips up until then), gave incorrect results. Intel's CEO is on record saying that they would not recall the chip line because it was a minor problem.
After a mass outrage by the consumer, and Intel being close to going out of business, they recalled the chip. In early 1999 they then produced a chip that when properly accessed, would give out the customer's CPU serial number of the chip, which then could be used to get their name, address etc.
After another outrage by the consumer, Intel produced a patch that was supposed to turn off this feature, hackers are still able to turn it back on. Personally I haven't bought or recommended any Intel line since their last boondoggle.
stagnation in computer industry is exemplified by choke-hold of Microsoft and Intel in PC-operating system and CPU chip respectively.
The switchover of Apple from PowerPC to Intel could reinforce the latter point - but the revival of the Macintosh computer and Unix via OSX tends to negate the former point. And, given that Unix gets ported to every chip architecture, wouldn't the defeat of Windows by Unix, in and of itself, also ultimately subvert the tendency toward an Intel monopoly? They don't call it "Wintel" for nothing; each has reinforced the other.If Intel got too monopolistic in its control of the cost of a chip, Apple - since it controls its own hardware and software - would be well able to switch to AMD. At least after it breaks the Microsoft hammerlock on the OS market.
I do hope so.
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