Intel gets court date, denies monopoly charge

Intel Corporation received a January 5, 1999 court date with the FederalTrade Commission (FTC), which filed an antitrust case against the chipmaker last month. The trial is expected to last about six weeks. Intelbegan its preparations for the trial by releasing a point-by-point rebuttalof the FTC's charges. The company, which denies it is a monopoly, claims itacted within the law when it denied trade secrets to companies it was quarreling with.

"Intel has not monopolized any market, attempted to monopolize any market,or used any unfair methods of competition," the company wrote in its rebuttal. "This is not an appropriate matter for action by the FTC. The allegations in this matter arise out of intellectual property disputes between Intel and three other major high-technology companies. In none of these cases did Intel deny anyone a supply of microprocessors or any otherproduct. Intel's actions did not and could not harm competition in any relevant market."