AMD subpoenas Intel customers in antitrust case

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices on Thursday said it has served subpoenas this week on dozens of Intel customers seeking documents for its private antitrust lawsuit against arch-rival Intel Corp.

The procedural move targets more than 15 computer makers and a dozen distributors and retailers that AMD believes may possess information related to its claims against Intel.

An AMD spokesman underscored that his company is not suing the companies. "AMD views these third parties as victims of Intel's misconduct and therefore hopes to obtain these documents in the manner least burdensome to them," he said.

Among those receiving requests to produce documents were Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., International Business Machines Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd., Gateway Inc. Sun Microsystems Inc., units of Fujitsu Ltd. and NEC Corp., Tech Data Corp. and Best Buy Co. Inc..

AMD's three-month-old suit accused Intel of using monopoly power to manipulate the market for microprocessors.

It argues that Intel, the dominant maker of computer chips, had threatened retaliation against PC makers that use chips from number two computer chip supplier AMD.

Intel has responded that the discounts it offers to PC makers were designed to lock out AMD from top PC makers. The world's largest chip maker said such price cutting is the "essence of competition" and not a violation of law.

Parties to the lawsuit say it is not expected to come to trial until 2007 at the earliest.