Intel makes procedural arguments before EGC for overturning fine

Intel has argued in front of the European General Court that its 2009 antitrust fine should be overturned. The basis of Intel’s appeal is procedural: it claims that the European Commission withheld mitigating evidence, such as favorable witness testimony and potentially exculpatory documents, and should have allowed Intel an additional hearing to let the company respond to all of the allegations.

The fine, 1.06 billion euros ($1.34 billion), was calculated at 4 percent of Intel’s 2008 sales and set a record for the European Union’s largest antitrust fine. 

The European Commission had ruled that Intel’s 2002-2005 use of loyalty rebates to computer makers such as Dell, HP, and Lenovo was unfair and abusive. Intel’s practices had excluded rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Intel settled a U.S. lawsuit with AMD for $1.25 in 2009, and also settled with the FTC in 2010.

Full content: Businessweek

Related content: Headline-Grabbing Intel Fine Hides Article 82 EC Enforcement Concerns

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