Intel set back in court

Intel suffered a minor setback Friday when an administrative law judge rejected the chipmaker's motion to compel the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to define the issues in its antitrust case.

Intel was seeking an order that would compel the commission to state which markets it believes Intel has been inflicting unwarranted monopoly power.

The company has been given ten days to file an appeal. A hearing to discuss the calendar in the case will take place July 10.

On June 8, the FTC took action against Intel alleging that in dealings with at least three customers, the chip giant withdrew valuable technical information when the companies asserted intellectual property claims. Claiming Intel holds a de facto monopoly in the market for personal computer microchips, the FTC said the actions violate antitrust laws.

For its part, Intel does not deny it cut off information from Compaq Computer, Digital Equipment, and Intergraph, but it says it was within its rights to do so.

Intel is an investor in CNET: The Computer Network.