ECJ Nixes Lower Court Ruling That Upheld $1.26 Billion EC Antitrust Fine Against Intel

Intel won a reprieve from the European Court of Justice, which sided with the company's appeal against a lower court ruling that upheld a 1.06 billion euro ($1.26 billion) European Commission fine (see 0912170127). The ECJ said in a Wednesday news release it's sending the case back to the General Court to re-examine Intel's arguments whether its rebates to computer makers and a retailer restricted competition. "While this case concerns events that happened more than a decade ago, we have always believed that our actions were lawful and did not harm competition," said Intel General Counsel Steven Rodgers in a statement. In 2009, the EC alleged Intel "abused" its market dominance for x86 CPUs from 2002 to 2007, with a 70 percent market share that made it difficult for competitors like Advanced Micro Devices to enter, said the release. Regulators alleged that Intel gave rebates to Dell, Lenovo, HP and NEC as long as they bought from the chipmaker "all, or almost all, of their x86 CPUs," and also made payments to Germany-based microelectronics retailer Media-Saturn-Holding to exclusively sell computers with the x86 CPUs. The EC said Intel's strategy "induced the loyalty" of those companies, significantly reducing competition and consumer choice, and imposed the penalty, noted the ECJ. Intel appealed the EC decision but the General Court dismissed that action in 2014. Intel appealed to ECJ. The court said the lower court failed to examine "errors allegedly committed" by regulators on an "as efficient competitor" test, which Intel raised. ECJ said the lower court failed to analyze "whether the rebates at issue were capable of restricting competition." The high court rejected Intel's argument that the EC lacked territorial jurisdiction.