Intel has won an epic battle with the European Union over a €1.06 billion ($1.1 billion) fine. In 2009, Bloomberg informed. In a final ruling, the EU Court of Justice overturned an earlier ruling that regulators had not provided enough evidence that Intel had granted illegal concessions to computer makers. Intel’s failures in Europe aren’t quite over yet, as it’s still grappling with a challenge. A fine of 376 million euros ($406 million) was set by the Commission last year.
Back in 2009, the EU ruled Intel illegally used hidden rebates to squeeze competitors out of the CPU market. It also found that Intel had paid manufacturers to delay or stop the release of products equipped with AMD’s CPUs, calling the actions “bare restraints.” The legal process went back and forth for years after that, but in 2017, Europe’s highest court ordered a review of the fine because the EU failed to conduct an economic assessment of how Intel’s actions affected competitors.
Europe’s second highest court confirmed that the Commission had conducted an incomplete analysis and exceeded A fine of 1.06 billion euros in 2022. At the time, he said the EU could not determine whether Intel’s concessions “have anti-competitive effects” because of an incomplete analysis.
The Commission appealed the decision, but the EU Court of Justice has now upheld it. However, Intel has never addressed the “bare limitations” part of past decisions last year The Commission imposed a new fine of 376 million euros on this basis. Intel is also fighting the penalty and has sued the EU to recover a percentage of the original, larger fine.
Of course, the processor landscape has changed dramatically since the original ruling in 2009. At the time, Intel ruled the PC with an 81 percent CPU market share, compared to 12 percent for AMD. Today, Intel’s share is down to 63 percent, and the company competes in chipmaking alongside rival TSMC, which makes the bulk of AMD and NVIDIA’s CPUs, GPUs and AI processors. Ironically, Intel outsourced much of its production to TSMC and other foundries. 30 percent. Fortunately, despite the production issues, it appears to be excellent legal advice.
