TOKYO (Reuters)—Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said on Thursday it had filed two suits against Intel Corp. in Japan, seeking $55 million in damages from the world's largest chip maker for alleged violations of the country's antitrust laws. The suits, filed at two courts in Tokyo, are the latest shot in a two-decade battle between Intel and AMD, which has accused its larger rival of using everything from threats to kickbacks in illegally building the world's top computer-chip business. Earlier this week, AMD filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, saying Intel coerced 38 companies, including Dell Inc. and Sony Corp., as it took control of 90 percent of the revenue generated by microprocessor sales. The latest action in Japan follows a March ruling by Japan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) that Intel had violated antitrust laws by offering rebates to five PC makers that agreed either not to buy or to limit their purchases of chips made by AMD or other rivals. The five computer makers are Hitachi Ltd., Sony, NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. "AMD Japan suffered serious damages, losing all of its sales to Toshiba, Sony, and Hitachi, while sales of NEC and Fujitsu also fell precipitously," AMD Japan, a wholly owned subsidiary of the California-based parent, said in a press release. Intel Japan spokesman Masatoshi Mizuno declined to comment. In April, Intel said it would comply with the FTC's order to eliminate discounts to PC makers, but also disputed the FTC's assertion that it had violated antimonopoly laws and stifled competition. Intel said the discounts were good for PC shoppers. AMD Japan filed one suit against Intel's Japan unit, Intel K.K., in the Tokyo High Court, seeking $50 million in damages. It filed another suit at the Tokyo District Court for "various anticompetitive acts" not included in the FTC's March ruling. It is after $55 million in total damages, a spokesman said. In the press release, AMD accused Intel of various wrongdoings in Japan including pressuring a company not to attend a product launch for AMD products and telling a PC maker to remove from its product catalog and Web Site all models using processors made by AMD. ($1=110.37 Yen) Source: eWeek
