Supreme Court allows handover of Intel documents to EU
Published: 21 Jun 2004 17:05 BST
The US Supreme Court ruled 7-1 on Monday that confidential Intel documents can be turned over to European antitrust officials, dealing a setback to the chipmaker.
The case arose out of an antitrust complaint that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel's archrival, filed with the European Union's Directorate-General for Competition. AMD recommended that the EU seek documents that Intel had filed in an unrelated private antitrust case in an Alabama federal court.
After the EU chose not to follow that advice, AMD unsuccessfully asked a federal district court in California to order Santa Clara-based Intel to turn over the documents. The 9th Circuit, however, overturned that decision, saying Intel should be required to disclose the information.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that federal law "authorises, but does not require, discovery assistance" and that the lower courts could "determine what, if any, assistance is appropriate" during further proceedings in the case.
In a dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer said his colleagues interpreted federal law to "extend beyond what I believe Congress might reasonably have intended." Justice Sandra Day O'Connor did not participate in the case.
Did you find this article useful?
33 out of 89 people found this useful
Digg
Slashdot
Del.ici.ous
Stumble
Reddit
