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Broadcom Takes EU Regulators to Court Over VMware Probe Documents

By  |  May 13, 2026
Broadcom

Broadcom  has filed a legal challenge against European Union antitrust regulators over requests for documents containing legal advice from its U.S. lawyers in an investigation linked to VMware, Inc., the software company it acquired in 2023. The U.S. chipmaker confirmed on Wednesday that it had brought the case before the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg, according to Reuters.

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    Broadcom said the lawsuit is intended to defend what it considers a fundamental legal principle rather than challenge the broader investigation itself. “This filing is a procedural action solely to protect Broadcom’s rights under the long-recognized rules on legal professional privilege in non-EU countries, including the U.S.,” the company said in an email, according to Reuters.

    “As a U.S.-headquartered company with global operations, Broadcom regards legal professional privilege as a fundamental right that must be protected and our action is narrowly tailored to address only this interest,” the company said. Broadcom added that it continues to cooperate with information requests from the European Commission, per Reuters.

    Attorney-client privilege generally protects confidential communications between lawyers and clients when legal advice is being sought or provided. However, legal protections vary across jurisdictions. In the European Union, according to Reuters, the privilege applies to communications between companies and their external legal counsel, but not to exchanges involving in-house lawyers.

    Related: EU Cloud Group Pushes for Halt to Broadcom VMware Changes

    The European Commission, which enforces competition rules across the bloc, said it is prepared to defend its decisions in court, according to Reuters.

    The dispute comes amid an ongoing antitrust investigation involving Broadcom’s handling of VMware services in Europe. In March, CISPE, a cloud industry lobbying group, filed an antitrust complaint with EU regulators urging temporary measures to prevent Broadcom from ending VMware’s Cloud Service Provider programme in Europe.

    CISPE, which represents nearly 50 members across Europe and counts Microsoft Corporation and Amazon.com, Inc. as associate members, also criticized Broadcom’s legal action.

    “Broadcom cannot demand complete disclosure from CISPE members affected by its practices while simultaneously maintaining opacity around its own internal communications and relevant evidence in the ongoing anti-trust investigation,” the group said, according to Reuters.

    Source: Reuters