US chipmaker Intel has won a long battle to overturn a fine of more than one billion euros imposed by the European Commission for allegedly abusing its market dominance in the sale of computer chips.
In a final ruling on Thursday, the European Court of Justice upheld an earlier ruling that had quashed the €1.06bn (£880m) fine and partially dismissed charges of anti-competitive behaviour.
But the ruling by the EU’s highest court is not the last word in the dispute, which dates back more than two decades. Intel has launched a new legal case against the commission, challenging a separate €376 million fine based on elements of the 2009 decision that were upheld by judges.
The long legal saga – based on an investigation into methods of selling central processing units, or CPUs, the “brain” of a computer – has become synonymous with the EU’s labyrinthine processes, through which cases can bounce between courts for years.
Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi even referenced the case as a high-profile “visible example” of slow decision-making in his recent report warning of an existential threat to the European economy from US and Chinese competition.
The story began 24 years ago, when a rival chipmaker filed a complaint with EU competition authorities, eventually leading to an investigation being launched in 2004. Almost six years later, in 2009, the commission concluded that Intel had abused its dominant market position and issued a then-record fine of €1.06 billion.
The commission alleged that Intel, then the world’s largest chipmaker, had abused its market dominance by giving all or part of “hidden rebates” to computer makers, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo, on the condition that They will buy Intel CPUs.
EU officials also accused Intel of paying computer makers to stop or delay the launch of products containing rival chips, known as “naked restrictions” in EU competition law.
Intel attempted to overturn the ruling in 2009 and lost at the EU general court in 2014, but was successful on appeal in 2017, when the EU’s highest court opened the case for review, declaring a legal error.
The case returned to the general court, which in 2022 annulled part of the 2009 decision, but confirmed the conclusion of the commission of market abuse through naked restrictions, that is, those that only aim to eliminate rivals. In 2022, judges also canceled the entire €1.06 billion fine, as they said they could not determine what part of the fine was related to the overt restrictions.
In response, the commission reimposed a €376 million fine last September based on the manifest restrictions, prompting a new legal challenge by the US company, which is still in the court system.
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But Intel won its challenge to the commission’s economic analysis: The judges argued that Brussels had not shown that Intel’s rebates excluded its competitors.
An Intel spokesperson said: “We are pleased with the ruling handed down today by the European Court of Justice and to finally put this part of the case behind us.”
A spokesman for the commission said: “We take note of the sentence and will of course evaluate it carefully.”
