A billion-dollar fine that has been hanging over Intel’s head since 2009 for antitrust practices has been overturned by the European General Court.
The General Court, the Court of First Instance of the Court of Justice of the European Union, overturned a 1.06 billion euro fine imposed on Intel. The European Commission had imposed that fine at the time following an antitrust investigation.
Illegal discounts
In the 2000s, Intel allegedly convinced major PC manufacturers such as HP, Dell and Lenovo to choose its own processors over a competitor’s using unfair incentives. Intel was able to provide those incentives by abusing its dominant market position. Specifically, Intel gave rebates on the condition that the manufacturers in question did not build too many systems with other processors. The competition, in this case AMD, was thus shunted out of the market. Only in 2019 did AMD manage to launch a successful comeback.
Intel appealed, but the General Court labeled the fine as justified in 2014. In 2017, the European Union’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, ruled that the commission’s antitrust investigation at the time was flawed. In doing so, a the commission allegedly did not adequately investigate the exact economic impact of Intel’s practices on AMD. The ECJ then sent the case back to the General Court.
Incomplete research
In a review, the court finds that the commission’s analysis at the time was indeed incomplete. Therefore, according to the court, it is impossible to objectively establish that Intel’s incentives effectively pushed AMD out of the market. Because the impact can no longer be determined, the Court also cannot determine the size of the fine. It is therefore struck down.
An appeal is still possible, but in doing so the case will come back before the Court of Justice of the European Union, which initially sent the case back on the grounds that the General Court itself now cites. So it looks like Intel will still walk away from the antitrust story unscathed.