Intel spars with EU regulators over $421.4 million antitrust fine
U.S. chipmaker Intel on Friday sparred with EU antitrust regulators over a 376 million euro ($421.4 million) fine levied nearly two years ago for excluding rivals from the market, arguing that it was disproportionate and unfair, News.az reports citing BBC.
The case dated to 2009 when the European Commission slapped a then-record 1.06 billion euro fine on Intel for blocking rival Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD).
The tech giant managed to convince the General Court, Europe’s second-highest, to scrap the penalty in 2022.
Judges however agreed with one part of the Commission’s 2009 decision, prompting the EU competition watchdog to re-impose a 376 million euro fine for payments made by Intel to HP (NYSE:HPQ), Acer (TW:2353) and Lenovo to halt or delay rival products between November 2002 and December 2006.
Such practices are known as naked restrictions and are frowned on by antitrust regulators. Intel then took its case back to the General Court, asking for the new EU decision and penalty to be annulled.
Intel’s lawyer said the EU competition enforcer had not taken into account the limited scope of the violations related to HP, Acer and Lenovo.
"The Commission cannot sustain a finding that there was an overall strategy to foreclose competitors from the entire x86 chips market. These were narrow, tactical moves," Daniel Beard told the panel of three judges.
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