From...

by James Niccolai

(IDG) -- After a 60-day period for public comment, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Friday quietly finalized its antitrust settlement with Intel.

MORE COMPUTING INTELLIGENCE
	IDG.net home page
PC World home page
FileWorld find free software fast
Make your PC work harder with these tips
Reviews & in-depth info at IDG.net
		IDG.net's desktop PC page
		IDG.net's portable PC page
IDG.net's Windows software page
IDG.net's personal news page
Year 2000 World
Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you
Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for computer geniuses (& newbies)
Search IDG.net in 12 languages
News Radio
	Fusion audio primers
	Computerworld Minute

The FTC's commissioners voted 3-1 in favor of accepting a consent decree agreed to between Intel and the FTC in March, shortly before the case was due to come to trial.

The FTC last year said Intel harmed competition when it refused to do business with three companies -- Digital Equipment, Compaq Computer, and Intergraph -- unless they agreed to license certain technology patents to Intel on favorable terms.

Intel basically never contested the facts, but said its behavior amounted to no more than a game of hardball in a competitive industry.

In a consent decree agreed to between the two sides in March, Intel said it would refrain from using access to technical information about its products as a way of settling disputes with customers. The consent decree doesn't create a blanket ban on such behavior from Intel, and it outlines a few instances in which the restriction wouldn't apply.

The FTC's dissenting vote came from Commissioner Orson Swindle, who says he saw no reason to believe that Intel's conduct outlined in the government's lawsuit threatened competition.