Memory Makers Settle Antitrust Lawsuit

Three PC memory manufacturers will pay $160 million to settle an antitrust case brought against them by small to medium sized businesses that purchased chips directly from the companies. Not all have settled, however, with five other defendants set to appear in court in February 2007.

Samsung will pay $67 million, and Infineon $21 million in the class action suit. Hynix would also pay $73 million, but its settlement is not expected to gain approval by the court until next week. In the end, lawyers say total damages could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The case is separate from, although related to, an antitrust probe that the Justice Department launched, alleging price fixing from 1999 through 2002. Altogether Samsung, Infineon, Hynix and Elpida paid some $731 million in fines, and some executives were sent to jail.

There is also a class-action lawsuit for consumers who purchased PCs with the company's chips included during the same period; that case is still ongoing. A class-action suit that was filed on behalf of international companies was dismissed by a federal judge.

Sun Microsystems has also filed an individual lawsuit against the companies in January of this year.