200 Million Pages And Counting: AMD Adds To The Tally Of Accusations Against Intel

Sunnyvale (CA) - The legal battle between Advanced Micro Devices and Intel has become more contentious, as AMD has added to its list of allegations filed against the rival chip-maker.

AMD first filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel in 2005, claiming that it engaged in unfair business practices in deals with Dell, IBM and HP. The discovery phase has generated an estimated 200 million pages of documents so far.

And it appears, we are far from reaching the end. AMD has filed new accusations, alleging that that Intel "pays people not to deal with AMD." This new claim is the result of AMD getting a hold of "several" e-mails between Intel and PC makers, according to AMD counsel Charles P. Diamond.

Unfortunately, the public won’t get the nitty and gritty of this new information. The Wall Street Journal said that most of the details in the 108-page court filing are blocked to public access because of a protective order.

Intel’s defense is so far is that the microprocessor market simply is competitive and that its business practices were not illegal. "AMD’s complaint about Intel’s discounting boils down to a complaint that Intel is a more efficient competitor," the company said in its filing.

One of the key reasons for AMD to add allegations to the suit is support its claim that it needs more time for evidence discovery. The company is asking for several more months to find more witnesses.

Intel is actively trying to prevent that, though. "They’re asking for way more than is necessary," Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy told the Journal.