Intel challenges EU over antitrust fine of $421.4m

US-based chipmaker Intel has commenced a legal battle with EU antitrust regulators regarding a €376m ($421.4m) fine that was imposed nearly two years ago, reported Reuters.

Intel has contested the fine, arguing that it is both “disproportionate and unfair”.

The dispute stems from a 2009 European Commission ruling, which initially fined Intel a record €1.06bn for allegedly blocking competitor Advanced Micro Devices.

Intel successfully appealed to the General Court, Europe's second-highest court, to have the penalty annulled in 2022.

However, the judges upheld one aspect of the Commission's 2009 decision, leading to the re-imposition of the €376m fine for the specific infringements involving the three computer manufacturers.

This new penalty was for Intel's payments to HP, Acer, and Lenovo, aimed at stopping or delaying the launch of rival products from November 2002 to December 2006, a practice known as naked restrictions and generally condemned by antitrust authorities.

Intel has since returned to the General Court, seeking to have the latest EU decision and fine overturned.

Intel lawyer Daniel Beard was cited by the news agency as saying that the EU competition enforcer failed to consider the limited nature of the violations, which only related to the companies HP, Acer, and Lenovo.

Beard told the panel of three judges: “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.

“The naked restrictions can't be treated as in effect of equal weight to each of the pricing practices which were overturned. Nor do they have the same sort of cumulative effect or strategic weight. They, on their own, don't sustain an overall, market-wide strategy finding.”

The EU's competition watchdog, however, rejected Intel's arguments against the fine.

EU lawyer Pedro Caro de Sousa was quoted by the news agency as saying: “The Commission correctly applied the finding guidelines, and when in doubt, opted in Intel's favour.

“The fine is clearly not disproportionate to the seriousness of Intel's conduct, amounting to 1% of its turnover on the last year of the infringement, and about 0.5% of its turnover today.”

Intel and the European Commission have both appealed to the court to determine an appropriate amount for the fine.

A decision from the court is anticipated in the forthcoming months, reported the news agency.

"Intel challenges EU over antitrust fine of $421.4m" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.