A group of 34 US states has filed a lawsuit against seven makers of DRam
memory chips for alleged price fixing.
Infineon
Technologies,
Hynix
Semiconductor,
Micron
Technology,
Mosel
Vitelic,
Nanya
Technology,
Elpida
Memory and
NEC
Electronics are accused of banding together to artificially inflate prices.
The companies are alleged to have met on a regular basis between 1998 and
2002 to set prices for memory chips.
Samsung,
the world's largest memory maker, is not among the accused.
"Price fixing strikes at the heart of free competition and fair play which
underpin our economic system and protect the interests of businesses and
consumers alike," said
California
Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
"The defendants in this case conspired to rig the US market for this
essential computer product, working together to keep prices artificially high.
In the process, they victimised individual consumers, governmental agencies,
schools and taxpayers.
"This lawsuit seeks compensation for those victims and to ensure that the
defendants never again violate the fundamental tenets that make our economy work
properly."
The suit follows a similar case by the US Department of Justice started in
2002. This case has led to guilty pleas from Samsung, Hynix, Infineon and
Elpida, and payment of $730m in fines.
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