As Intel Corp has said, unsurprisingly enough, it will appeal the final ruling of the US Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust complaint made Monday after complaints from Intergraph Corp, Compaq Computer Corp and Digital Equipment Corp (CI No 3,427). Speaking in Tokyo on Tuesday, Intel’s president and chief executive Craig Barrett said the company would appeal in the federal court system should the FTC conclude with an administrative finding against us. Barrett said the company believes it has abided by all the laws and says under current US law as Intel understands it, a company being sued over intellectual property can assert its legal right to intellectual property rights or withhold intellectual property as a defense against the company bringing the attack. Communications manager Howard High said the company was not denying it had withheld its intellectual property from Intergraph, Digital and Compaq, what it was disputing was whether or not that’s a legal act. The company has also raised the question of the validity of an antitrust case in the first place, which is all about competition, and anticompetitive behavior. Intel claims its has only benefited the industry as a whole by continually lowering prices and thereby spurring the growth of the industry. It also seems to be taking the antitrust literally and not in spirit, by claiming that antitrust is about damaging the competition, whereas Compaq, Digital and Intergraph are customers, not competitors.
