Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

[Windsock]

The only FTC proceeding against Intel involved whether Intel could withhold technology from a company that sued Intel for patent infringement. The dispute resulted from the patent suit by Intergraph against Intel.

The FTC approved a settlement with Intel in 1999 that it touted as a big victory. As a practical matter, the settlement was a fig leaf for the FTC to cover what amounted to a total victory for Intel.

Intel was permitted to withhold technology from a patent holder who sought to stop Intel from producing the technology in question. A patent holder virtually always asks for injunction barring use of the invention when filling a patent suit. Therefore, the settlement placed the FTC seal of approval on precisely the practice that Intel followed when sued by Intergraph and before that in patent suits filed by DEC and Compaq -- separate companies in those days.

http://www.crn.com/it-channel/18801261

The settlement specifies circumstances where Intel is not obligated to supply product or advance technical information, such as when a customer seeks a court order to stop Intel from selling processors related to that information. Other circumstances include when a customer breaches an agreement regarding disclosure of the information.