News Intel threatens to pull AMD’s rights and licenses

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/03/16/intel-threatens-to-pull-amd-licenses/1

Intel says that Global Foundries isn't a subsidiary under the terms of its agreement with AMD, and threatens to pull AMD’s licenses.

 

But dont AMD own x64 or something like that?

 

yep, what AMD is saying is that it believes it can continue making x86 processors, but remove Intel's x86-64 license because of this 'breach of cross license' as AMD refers to it.

It's a game of legal tennis.

From Twitter via AMD's Patrick Moorhead:

Interesting if all of that is true.

 

Quite simply Intel is ****ed

if they actually lost this case, everything is headed x64, and look at its new chips that leverage all of this AMD IP, if they lost the right to that that could seriously cause some problems

If they won it'd pretty much put AMD out of business, which means totl Monopoly and regulators are REALLY not going to like that

Honestly i think this was a BAD move by intel if it goes too far

 

if intel pulls the x86 agreement, then AMD will counter with the 64-bit and multi-core agreement, in which intel would result in lossing more, thus turning AMD into a monopoly to which the authorities could clamp down on.

Basically Intel cant hurt AMD as AMD will hurt them back, the only way either company can hurt each other is down to sales.

 

Which is usually awesome for consumers.

Does anyone else here ever get excited by these big potential shakeups in the industry?
While the reality is rarely quite as exciting, I always imagine weird, optimistic scenarios of corporate battles bringing about whole new epochs in processor design or somesuch.

All of a sudden AMD start making the fastest CPUs with exclusive rights to the newest technologies and architectures, Intel start producing the best GPUs, nVidia take over as market-leader in the sound card market and VIA become AMD's biggest competitor, meanwhile Microsoft announces that the next iteration of Windows will be open-source, use a Linux kernel AND be produced in coalition with Apple!

And in the background, Maas Biotek are about to make a killing with their latest line of neural interfaces to the Matrix.

Persuadertrons at the ready!



A hyperactive imagination makes interesting news articles even better.

 

You never know! It could happen... It would be awesome too. I was just thinking today that x86 and microsofts & apples exclusivity is getting very stale!
In reality microsoft and apple need to have compatible OS's so real competition can take place.
AMD and Intel need to quit it with all the licencing and legal battles and just get on with it.

On a side note, This article makes it sound like its CPU WW1! Big stuff.
Both companies could potentially obliterate the other. Its like the nuclear standoff in the cold war. Which company is willing to fire the first shot?

 

If AMD lose the rights to produce x86 chips, the x86-64 superset is effectively worthless to them.

I also seriously doubt AMD have exclusive rights to the use of IMC or multi-core processors, and their statement that Intel is doing this merely to distract from all the anti-competitive action investigations does appear pretty desperate.

It's in the best interests of both sides to sit down and renegotiate their deal in light of AMD's fab spinoff, and quite why AMD is so reluctant (given that Intel have been asking for this for months, ever since the initial proposal for the spinoff) seems baffling.

 

Can AMD in theory make a CPU without Intel's license? like a 64bit only chip? (I would assume not).

With regard to the monopoly idea.... well if license agreements are broken then the license is invalidated, in other words Intel would become a monopoly due to AMD committing commercial suicide.... what would regulators do? break up Intel just so that there would not be a monopoly situation? I mean that's basically the same scenario as what happens if AMD for some reason when bankrupt?

Usually monopolies arise due to mergers of companies, if one company becomes a monopoly due to situations out of their control.. then what happens?

I know that in this case obviously Intel can control the situation and at the same time both companies have so many cross licenses that I fully agree with Burnout21.

 

Would that mean that it's soon time to free Wintermute?

 

Hold on, Intel may be right. They have a contract with AMD, if AMD have broken the contract, than Intel have a responsibility to their share holders to protect their property.

If Intel let AMD "give" the licence to "a" third party, then how about more third parties? Can AMD keep splitting and splitting to create lots of companies creating x86 procs? All of them running on the "same" licence?

I want lots of people building chips, fast-slow-hot-cool-multi-core-flexible-trasparent whatever... and currently the flavour of the month is x86 for no other reason than that is where the big bucks R&D is going (look at Apple!)

But there is a legal issue here, and while we don't want it to be there it is there, and one side can't just decide to break the rules.

They'll sort it out, but a big part of my thinks AMD are pulling a fast one in the hope that somewhere down the line noone is going to allow there to be one major chip maker.

So who wins out of all this?

Via!

 

AMD doesn't give away their licence. They just produce their products on someone else factory.

Take for example Apple and Iphone. It's products are made by Foxconn.
Foxconn hasn't the ability to produce +1 without Apple's permission.

 

Glad someone got that reference.

 

Well, if the licence states that AMD may produce x86 chips, then I don't see how they would be allowed to form a new company under it that would do the same :S
Also, the "AMD pulling the x64 licence" idea doesn't really stand. I doubt the licence says "if Intel take away x86 we take what we own". I don't see how AMD could LEGALLY pull anything they licence to Intel, if Intel doesn't breach their side of the agreement...

 

I believe the original x86 license only allowed AMD to outsource a certain percentage of their manufacturing...

clickety click, yep:

So that's true, and if AMD don't own at least 50% of the new manufacturing company, Intel sees it as outsourcing, and therefore says AMD is in breach of their license.

Daft games...

 

Or Intel could just **** off and let them both create CPU's without all this dumb bickering back and forth.

I can't see Intel following through with this. It could put AMD out of business, and Intel would be a monopoly.

 

AMD has 50(+) percent of the voting-rights of The Foundry but only own 35-40% of it. AMD basically controls the company (due to voting rights) but doesn't get as much money back as they would if they owned more.

I wonder if AMD (in the worst case) could "buy" back The Foundry for the missing 10-15 percent and get majority while the rest (49%) where owned by other people/companies.

 

Current Economical times is putting AMD ahead of Intel as it has better pricing for such hard times and have seen an increase in sales, Intel isnt liking this and is trying something to slow it down eg waste AMD money on legal fees ~_~ but hey thats Intel for you... kinda reminds me of another company *caugh* nVidia *caugh* ... how quickly they become whiners when things start to slip or not go their way...

 

everyone is jumping to speculations without knowing the facts.

it went back to when the contract was created, the reason AMD was not allow to use the x86 outside of it's own manufacturing property was so intel can keep a market hold as AMD would not be able to produce enough chip if there was a great demand for it, resulting in their glass ceiling. Even if everyone wanted AMD they would probably not be able to produce more than 25% of the market share.

64 bit, integrated memory, multi core are all AMD, but they require x84.

worst case is amd has to build a new architechture or use an existing one that is not x84.
intel would be back to P4 and looking for a new way around AMD's patent.

it's a loose loose. Intel holds all the cards it's AMD that is bluffing, they agreed to the contract and knew the foundry break it.