Executives at Intel are preparing their appeal against the $1.45 billion (£895m) antitrust fine levied by the European Commission three years ago.
According to the regulators, that huge fine was because of Intel’s alleged anti-competitive behaviour aimed at limiting systems makers’ use of chips from rival Advanced Micro Devices.
During a four-day hearing scheduled for June in Luxembourg, Intel executives will argue that the EC, the antitrust arm of the European Union, failed to prove that the giant chip maker unlawfully hindered AMD’s abilities to do business, and that the fine – the largest ever levied by the commission – was “manifestly disproportionate” with other fines levied by the EC.
According to Reuters, the fine represented 4.15 percent of Intel’s 2008 revenues.
According to EC officials, this was done through the use of rebates and direct payments to the systems makers.
Intel officials denied the allegations and promised to appeal. They argued that while the company was aggressive in its marketing and sales, those practices were not illegal or anti-competitive.
Intel found an ally in the EC’s ombudsman, who in November 2009 criticised the commission for improperly recording a meeting with a Dell executive during the course of its investigation. The ombudsman accused the European regulators of “maladministration.”
The EC disagreed with the ombudsman’s findings.
The European regulators’ investigation was one of a number of probes at the time into Intel’s business practices, with similar accusations of payoffs to OEMs to limit their use of products from AMD, as well as from graphics chip maker Nvidia. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also accused Intel of altering some of its technologies to hamper the performance of products from AMD and other vendors.
Intel and the various regulators and rivals settled the legal disputes, though Intel executives remained firm that they had not violated any laws. Intel and AMD in November 2009 settled their lawsuits, with Intel paying AMD $1.25 billion (£772m) and agreeing to a set of business practice provisions.
In August 2010, Intel and the FTC settled their lawsuit, with the two sides agreeing that Intel could not use its market dominance and money to hamper competition. In addition, the chip maker in February settled with the New York State Attorney General’s Office. The settlement included a $6.5 million (£4m) payment from Intel to cover some of the government’s costs related to the litigation.
German foreign minister warns Russia will face consequences for “absolutely intolerable” cyberattack on ruling party,…
Google is reportedly laying off at least 200 staff from its “Core” organisation, including key…
Investor appeasement? Apple unveils huge $110 billion share buyback program, as sales of iPhone decline…
Tesla retreats from pioneering gigacasting manufacturing process, amid cost cutting and challenges at EV giant
No skynet please. After the US, UK and France pledge human only control of nuclear…
Microsoft's AI investments continue in south east Asia, after investments in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, as…