The FTC has come to a settlement with Intel Corp., after allegations that the company has used anti-competitive tactics against its competition. The settlement is aimed to help restore the competition in the market that has suffered due to Intel’s actions, while still giving the company freedom to be competitive.
Under the settlement Intel will no longer be able to give benefits to companies to solely use their chips and prevents them from retaliating against companies that do chose to do business with non-Intel products.
Also Intel will have to change its intellectual property agreements with AMD, Nvidia and Via, allowing them to have more freedom without fear of reprisal from Intel as well as having to extend Via’s x86 license.
The vote to approve of this settlement was unanimous, with the settlement being open to the public until September 7th when FTC will make their final judgment.
Chairman John Leibowitz was quoted “This case demonstrates that the FTC is willing to challenge anti-competitive conduct by even the most powerful companies in the fastest-moving industries. By accepting this settlement, we open the door to competition today and address Intel’s anti-competitive conduct in a way that may not have been available in a final judgment years from now. Everyone, including Intel, gets a greater degree of certainty about the rules of the road going forward, which allows all the companies in this dynamic industry to move ahead and build better, more innovative products.”
