Suit against Intel is curbed

Intel Corp., the world’s largest semiconductor maker, won a judge’s ruling that narrowed an antitrust lawsuit brought by computer buyers to cover only claims tied to U.S. sales.

More than 70 consumers claimed in a consolidated lawsuit started in 2005 that they bought computers with Intel processors at inflated prices because the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company coerced manufacturers to buy its chips instead of cheaper alternatives.

“The court concludes that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction” over claims “based on the alleged foreign conduct of Intel,” U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. wrote in a 12-page opinion released this week in Wilmington, Del.

The decision cited Farnan’s similar ruling Sept. 26 in a companion case, in which Advanced Micro Devices Inc. accused Intel of monopolizing the $32-billion market for microprocessor chips by stifling competition.