A federal judge in San Jose could compel Intel to turn over documents rival Advanced Micro Devices wants to see regarding a European antitrust probe, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 21.
The justices ruled almost unanimously that American law allows but doesn't require a federal judge to offer judicial help to a foreign tribunal or "interested person(s) abroad," according to the 7-1 ruling.
That sent the case back to the lower federal court as the European Commission continues probing AMD's complaint that Intel gave illegal rebates to computer makers while threatening those using competing processors – an echo of similar complaints regarding Microsoft and its Internet browsers.
Intel spokesperson Chuck Mulloy told reporters the Supreme Court ruling was very narrowly focused, taking "great pains" to say they didn't rule outright on AMD's discovery bid. Mulloy also noted an EC brief on behalf of Intel in the Supreme Court case, in which the EC reputedly said the information AMD wants isn't relevant to the antitrust probe.
Intel has argued that the EC's probe is only an investigation, not a litigation, and that U.S. court documents are confidentially sealed. AMD wants some internal Intel documents from a lawsuit involving Intel and Intergraph, according to published reports.
