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Technology Stocks : Advanced Micro Devices - Moderated (AMD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: gzubeck who wrote (226714)	2/22/2007 7:39:42 PM
From: I_Banker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 275872

Yes, the court would not let AMD invalidate its cross licensing agreement without letting all interested parties (i.e. Intel) have their say. Also, unless AMD has successfully invented around Intel's IP, they would be chopping off their nose to spite their face.

To: gzubeck who wrote (226714)	2/22/2007 8:22:40 PM
From: smooth2o	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 275872

Most businesses don't try to "screw" others. Where do you get these ideas? Smooth

To: gzubeck who wrote (226714)	2/22/2007 9:02:10 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 275872

AMD could say it revokes its part of the cross licensing, but it would need a court order to enforce it, and that order would be appealed (and execution of the order probably stayed until resolution of the appeal). It would take years to sort it all out. In the meantime AMD would also face a similar problem (and similarly be able to delay it). If nobody every blinks and if the courts decide that the agreement really is void, and that neither company has the rights without the agreement, than I guess both companies commit mutual suicide. But 1 - I think AMD going in to bankruptcy is very unlikely. 2 - If it does and it doesn't go out of business AMD and Intel are likely to see the continuing cross licensing as being in their favor (and if AMD does go out of business Intel would probably be the highest bidder for the important patents) 3 - If one or both companies do try to cancel the cross licensing, than the courts might not go along. 4 - If the courts do go along AMD and Intel would likely reach some sort of settlement. 5 - If they don't and the appeals process nears its end and it looks like neither company would be likely to continue to produce chips, Intel would likely buy AMD (if its allowed to, and under the circumstance it might be), or some other company would buy out one or both companies (its hard to imagine buying out Intel, but if things really get that crazy its stock price will be in the toilet) and the new owners will settle. Or maybe if nothing like that happens congress pressures the companies to settle or even passes legislation to modify the patent rights to allow both companies to continue to operate.