Intel Corp won a round in its interminable litigation with Advanced Micro Devices Inc when the California Court of Appeal dissallowed the arbitration award that gave Advanced Micro rights to the microcode of the 80386. Advanced Micro said it believes the decision was in error and will seek another hearing with a larger panel than the three judges that handed down last week’s ruling. The arbitrator’s award, made because he decided that Intel had breached the terms of its second source agreement with Advanced Micro, had been confirmed by the State Court and Federal Court but was overturned by the State Appeals Court; Advanced Micro won a stay of that decision, and the latest ruling lifts that stay. Intel reckons it can now proceed with separate cases that directly challenge Advanced Micro’s right to use Intel microcode to clone its Am386 and Am486 chips. The retrial of the case involving the 80287 chip, originally won by Intel, is due to get under way this week.
