LONDON (AP) — European Union antitrust enforcers slapped Intel on Friday with a contemporary $400 million tremendous in a long-running authorized combat that the chipmaker appeared to have received final yr.
The European Fee imposed the 376.4 million-euro tremendous after a court docket threw out an unique 1.06 billion-euro penalty issued in 2009 over allegations that the Santa Clara, California-based firm used unlawful gross sales ways to close out smaller rival AMD.
The fee, the 27-nation bloc’s high antitrust watchdog, accused Intel of abusing its dominant place within the international marketplace for x86 microprocessors with a method to exclude rivals by utilizing rebates and gross sales restrictions.
The EU’s Normal Courtroom final yr annulled the unique choice, saying that the fee’s evaluation of the rebates didn’t meet authorized requirements.
Nevertheless, the court docket confirmed that the gross sales restrictions amounted to an abuse of Intel’s dominant market place. It couldn’t resolve how the full tremendous might be divided up between the 2 offenses, leaving the fee to give you a brand new quantity.
“The decrease tremendous imposed by right this moment’s choice displays the narrower scope of the infringement in comparison with the 2009 Fee choice,” the EU watchdog mentioned.
Intel’s European press crew didn’t reply instantly to an e-mail looking for remark.