Chipmaker Intel achieved a significant victory on Thursday in its ongoing legal battle with European Union competition regulators. The EU's highest court upheld a previous ruling that overturned a billion-euro antitrust fine imposed on Intel more than a decade ago. The European Commission's appeal against the decision was dismissed by the Court of Justice, the top antitrust authority in the 27-nation bloc.
The Court of Justice stated that it rejected all grounds of appeal put forth by the Commission, as outlined in a press release summarizing the judgment. In response to the ruling, Intel expressed satisfaction, stating that it is pleased to finally conclude this chapter of the case.
The origins of the case trace back to 2009 when the European Commission fined Intel 1.06 billion euros ($1.14 billion) for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive practices to exclude its smaller rival, AMD. The Commission accused Intel of leveraging its dominant position in the x86 microprocessor market through the use of rebates to stifle competition.
In a surprising turn of events in 2022, the EU's General Court overturned the hefty penalty, a decision that was upheld by the Court of Justice on Thursday. However, this latest ruling does not mark the end of the legal saga for Intel. The company is currently contesting a separate 376.4 million-euro ($406.6 million) fine imposed by Brussels last year, targeting specific sales restrictions deemed unlawful in the 2022 ruling by the General Court.
Following the news of the court's decision, shares of Intel Corp., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, experienced a slight increase before the markets opened on Thursday.
