Intel Antitrust Case

Description

Ethics/Antitrust Assignment

The Intel Antitrust case
In the mid-2000s, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) filed several antitrust lawsuits against the dominant firm in the microprocessor business, Intel.
AMD accused Intel of abusing their market leadership position to keep computer manufacturers from using AMD processors and exclusively using Intel processors through rebates, payments and other support, as well as threats of retaliation should they use AMD processors in important market segments.
Moreover, Intel had also been accused of using “artificial performance impairment” in their devices. While not being labeled incompatible, software compiled with Intel compilers had inferior performance on AMD processors.
More details on Intel’s practices can be found here:
• European Commission website: http://ec.europa.eu/%20competition/sectors/ICT/intel_provisional_decision.pdf
• SEC website: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/ edgar/data/50863/000005086309000213/exh101.htm

Assignment:
Regardless of the legal outcome of these antitrust cases, were Intel’s competitive practices ethical? In your answer, make sure to address all major ethical issues that you see, apply moral standards and ethical principles that are relevant to the case, evaluate arguments and facts and finally come to a decision whether or not Intel’s competitive practices were ethical. In specific, I would like to see the following aspects addressed:
1. Identify all of the parties involved who have a stake in the outcome of the case, as well as the ethical aspects pertaining to them.
2. Using your own judgement, give an argument for each aspect in terms of why a certain outcome would be an ethical or an unethical one.
3. Weigh your arguments against the economic insights and reasoning gained in class pertaining to monopoly and anti-trust issues.