EU: Court of Justice to deliver verdict on Intel antitrust fine

The EU Court of Justice (ECJ), Europe’s highest court, is expected to deliver verdict on the Intel antitrust fine imposed eight years ago on Wednesday, September 6.

The ruling will greatly impact how US companies reacted to EU legal penalties.

In 2009, Intel was hit with a US$1.26 billion fine for abusing its dominant market position by using various marketing stratagems and has been fighting the case since then.

According to commentators, if the ruling were to go in favour of Intel, then US companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google, that had tended to accept EU antitrust penalties, may consider fighting the EU in court as a viable option.

Intel was slapped with the biggest ever antitrust penalty when the EC ruled that Intel blocked rival Advanced Micro Systems (AMD) from the computer chip market, abusing its dominant market position.

After general court judges dismissed Intel’s claim in 2014, the firm turned to the ECJ, its last option to fight against the fine.

Full Content: Financial Times

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