Intel and
AMD today issued the
same statement about a decision to end all outstanding legal
disputes between the two companies.
The joint statement reads:
'Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) today
announced a comprehensive agreement to end all outstanding legal
disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and
patent cross license disputes.
In a joint statement the two companies commented, "While the
relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the
past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the
companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and
development."
Under terms of the agreement, AMD and Intel obtain patent rights
from a new 5-year cross license agreement, Intel and AMD will give
up any claims of breach from the previous license agreement, and
Intel will pay AMD $1.25 billion.
Intel has also agreed to abide by a set of business practice
provisions. As a result, AMD will drop all pending litigation
including the case in U.S. District Court in Delaware and two cases
pending in Japan. AMD will also withdraw all of its regulatory
complaints worldwide. The agreement will be made public in filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.'
Presumably the recent anti-trust case brought
against Intel by the State of New York is unaffected by AMD's
decision because the New York case is a criminal case, whereas AMD
only has the power to withdraw from civil cases as in the Delaware
proceedings.
Whether or not AMD's decision will affect the anticipated
decision of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on whether it
will bring anti-trust proceedings against Intel is not unknown. The
FTC has been investigating Intel's business practices for most of
the current decade and a decision on prosecution had been thought
to be imminent.