With Intel’s longstanding legal dispute with AMD resolved, Douglas Melamed, the company’s new general counsel, will have one less thing to worry about when he starts work–not that he lacks the experience to deal with it.
Earlier today, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices announced a comprehensive agreement to end their outstanding legal disputes. After the jump, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer’s official remarks about the agreement.
Wow. Intel and AMD’s seemingly endless legal battles have finally ended. The two companies said early Thursday that they have reached a comprehensive agreement that resolves their many antitrust and patent disputes. Under its terms, Intel will pay AMD $1.25 billion and agree to “abide by a set of business practice provisions” presumably crafted to temper its alleged anticompetitive practices.
AMD has been carping about Intel’s alleged anticompetitive acts without satisfaction for so long that the company evidently feels entitled to a bit of gloating now that its rival has found itself in the legal crosshairs of the European Union and New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, among others. In remarks made during AMD Financial Analyst Day, CEO Dirk Meyer said that Intel’s current legal woes “ratify” AMD’s allegations.
Looks like it’s going to be a very busy fall for Intel legal. This morning, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the company, alleging that it violated state and federal laws with a “systematic campaign” of illegal conduct.
For those about to rock, All Things Digital salutes you.
Looks like AMD has benefited from the same favorable PC updraft that’s lifting Intel. On Thursday, the chip maker reported a narrower third-quarter loss than expected, thanks to “strong demand” for its microprocessors and graphics chips.
Intel’s criticism of the European Commission’s legal acumen clearly has not gone over well in Brussels. The EC today responded to Intel’s claims that the Commission’s antitrust ruling against the company was meted out in error by releasing the full text of its decision and a selection of email correspondence and internal memos that make it clear that Intel probably should have kept its big mouth shut.
Pat Gelsinger isn’t the only Intel veteran leaving the company amid the big management restructuring announced today. Longtime general counsel Bruce Sewell is taking his leave as well. Which is odd, since Sewell has been quarterbacking Intel’s fight against antitrust allegations at home and abroad since, well, since they were first brought against the company.
When Intel CEO Paul Otellini said “the worst is now behind us,” he was clearly not referring to AMD. Posting earnings Tuesday afternoon, AMD reported an ugly loss of $330 million, or 49 cents a share–greater than the 47 cents analysts had been expecting.
Intel’s year of sequential gains in the semiconductor market came to an abrupt end in the first quarter of 2009. According to market research outfit iSuppli, the chip giant’s share of the market fell 2.5 percent to 79.1 percent in Q1. Meanwhile, AMD’s rose about 2.3 percent to 12.8 percent.
A bit of good news today amid the chip industry’s seemingly endless procession of bad. Sales of semiconductors rose 6.4 percent globally from March to April to $15.6 billion, according to the latest metrics from the Semiconductor Industry Association. But at $15.6 billion, they were still about 25 percent below the $20.9 billion reported last April.
John Paczkowski has been poking fun at the tech industry and the personalities that drive it since 1997. From 1999 to 2007, he wrote the award-winning tech news Web log Good Morning Silicon Valley for the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
12:58 AM: Breakfast: Two schools of fish from Tokyo Bay. Calories: 782,000. How I was feeling when I ate this: confused, irradiated, hating my size.
11:37 AM: Exercise: “Taxi Stomp” (alternating legs, for 30 blocks). Calories burned: 148,900,183.
1983. The Beatles announce their first tour in thirteen years, but likewise announce that Michael Jackson will be going on tour with them as a one gigantic mega-concert event.
Best video mashup ever.
A Facebook Memorial
Wow.
Worth it for the Rickrolling photo alone.
Excellent.
Flughumor!
… you vacuous, toffee-nosed, malodorous perverts
Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine meet the kakapo — a fat, flightless and very randy rare parrot.
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