AMD got its second lift in a short space of time when the UK Patent Office preliminarily refused Intel's application to make a trademark of the term 'MMX'. The move follows a similar decision on the part of a US federal judge.

The Patent Office ruled that MMX "is a term that is customary in the trade" and said "the application was accepted in error".

"We are delighted that common sense has prevailed," said Richard Baker, regional marketing manager for PC products at AMD. "Intel was trying to reduce the impact of the K6 launch".

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