AMD Japan Sues Intel K.K.

AMD Japan today filed two claims against Intel Corporation's Japanese subsidiary, Intel K.K., in the Tokyo High Court and the Tokyo District Court for damages arising from violations of Japan's Antimonopoly Act.

The suit in the Tokyo High Court seeks $50 million (approx. 5.5 billion yen) in damages, following on the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC)'s findings in its March 8, 2005 Recommendation that Intel K.K. committed violations of the Antimonopoly Act.

The JFTC Recommendation concluded that Intel K.K. interfered with AMD Japan's business activities by providing large amounts of funds to five Japanese PC manufacturers (NEC, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Sony, and Hitachi) on the condition that they refuse to purchase AMD processors.

As a result of these illegal acts, AMD Japan suffered serious damages, losing all of its sales to Toshiba, Sony, and Hitachi, while sales to NEC and Fujitsu also fell precipitously. The suit in the Tokyo High Court follows Intel K.K.'s acceptance of the JFTC Recommendation. In accepting the Recommendation, Intel K.K. did not dispute the JFTC findings.

An additional suit filed at the Tokyo District Court level seeks to recover millions of dollars in damages for various anticompetitive acts in addition to what is covered in the scope of the JFTC Recommendation. These anticompetitive acts also had the effect of interfering with AMD Japan's right to engage in normal business and marketing activities.