Two weeks ago, AMD filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel, and today officials from the European Commission as well as local officials have raided Intel offices in England, Germany, Spain, and Italy.
Offices of other companies that make and/or sell computers are being raided by the European Commission as well. Intel says that its business practices are neither illegal nor unfair.
Last year, the commission sent formal notices to France, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Italy and Germany seeking information on government procurement tenders for computers that either require they contain Intel chips or specify a chip speed only the U.S. giant can provide. That investigation was sparked by Advanced Micro Devices.
EU antitrust regulators reached a preliminary conclusion in 2002 that there was insufficient evidence to bring any charges. But in June 2004, regulators said they would look into Intel’s business practices again after AMD refused to withdraw its complaint.
A couple of weeks ago, AMD sued Intel for allegedly bullying as many as 38 computer manufacturers into using their chips. Intel maintains that they did no such thing.
In the meantime, Intel plans to fully co-operate with authorities, as the investigations continue. Why wouldn’t they if they have nothing to hide, right? “Intel’s normal practice is to attempt to co-operate with regulatory authorities,” said a U.K. spokesman for Intel.
Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
