On Tuesday, to spin off its manufacturing operations into a separate company tentatively called The Foundry. The restructuring lets struggling AMD rid itself of the financial burden of running fabrication plants and provides a hefty influx of cash from its partner in the deal, Advanced Technology Investment Co. (ATIC).

Now, rival Intel is throwing a flag on the play.

"We certainly have to evaluate it," said Intel spokesman . "It certainly could be a change in the competitive landscape."

Mulloy explained that Intel and AMD have licensed each other's patents since 1976. Among other things, the latest pact signed in 2001 calls for AMD to pay royalties to Intel for the use of its x86 architecture.

"Intel has serious questions about the AMD move as it relates to that licensing agreement," said Mulloy, who would not divulge how much AMD pays in royalties for the X86 architecture. "We don't have enough information. We will be evaluating it. Intel has an obligation to shareholders to protect its intellectual property."