The European competition authorities have imposed a fine of around 376 million euros on semiconductor manufacturer Intel. The American company had abused its dominant position in the microchip market, the European Commission said in Brussels on Friday. The Brussels government had initially demanded more than a billion euros. However, Intel filed a lawsuit and, after more than ten years of litigation, received a reduced sentence.
The case concerns loyalty discounts that Intel granted to computer manufacturers who mainly purchased their processors from the American manufacturer and not from the competition. According to the European Commission, Intel abused its dominant position in the market for so-called x86 processors between 2002 and 2007.
The Brussels authorities imposed their original fine of 1.06 billion euros in 2009. Intel went to the European Court in Luxembourg, which ruled in favor of the European Commission. After the group successfully appealed to the European Court of Justice, the European Court partially lifted the sentence in early 2022. The reason given was that it had not been proven that the disputed discounts were anti-competitive.
Source: Krone
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