Intel, the US chipmaker, has won an ongoing battle against a fine of over €1bn levied by the European Commission due to its alleged abuse of market dominance when selling computer chips.
The European Court of Justice issued a final decision on Thursday that upheld a previous judgment which had annulled the €1.06bn fine (£880m). It also partially dismissed the accusations of anti-competitive behavior.
The ruling of the EU’s top court is not final in this dispute that dates back over two decades. Intel has filed a new legal case against the EU commission contesting an €376m separate fine based upon elements of the 2009 decision which were upheld by the judges.
The EU’s long and labyrinthine legal processes are exemplified by the lengthy legal saga, which is based on a probe into the sale of central processing units, or CPUs – the “brain” in a computer. Cases can bounce around courts for many years.
In his recent Report, the former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi warned of a existential threat for the European Economy by US and Chinese Competition.
In 2004, a rival chipmaker filed a complaint with EU competition authorities. This led to a 2004 investigation. In 2009, five years after the complaint was filed, the EU Commission concluded that Intel abused its dominant position on the market and imposed a record fine of €1.06bn.
The Commission alleged that Intel had abused their market dominance, giving “hidden rebates”, either in full or part, to computer manufacturers such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Lenovo on the condition they purchased Intel’s processors.
EU officials also accused Intel, of paying computer makers to stop or delay the release of products that contain rival chips. This is known as “naked restriction” in EU competition laws.
Intel tried to annul the ruling and lost at the EU general court in 2014. However, Intel won on appeal when the EU highest court reviewed the case in 2017, declaring that there was a legal mistake.
In 2022, the case was returned to the general courts, who annulled a part of the 2009 ruling, but confirmed the findings of the commission of market abuse by naked restrictions, that is, those which only aim to eliminate rivals. The entire €1.06bn fine was also cancelled in 2022 by the judges, who said that they could not determine the exact amount of the penalty relating to naked restrictions.
The commission then imposed an additional fine of €376m based on the restrictions that were not disclosed. This prompted a new legal challenge by the US company, which is currently in court.
Intel was successful in its challenge of the economic analysis by Brussels: Judges argued that Brussels did not prove that Intel’s rebates prevented competitors from competing.
Intel’s spokesperson said, “We are happy with the judgement delivered today by the court justice of the European Union and that we can finally put this case behind us.”
A spokesperson for the commission said: “We will be carefully assessing it.”
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