Intel Appeals Record-Setting $1.3 Billion EU Antitrust Fine
Intel Appeals Record-Setting $1.3 Billion EU Antitrust Fine
Even for a company as financially stable as Intel, paying a $1.3 billion fine doesn't come easy, or without hesitation. It's even tougher to fork over the funds when it's believed the fine is based on "profoundly inadequate" evidence, as the Santa Clara chip maker referred to the European Commission's investigation, which led to the record breaking penalty. Intel is hoping to have the three-year-old fine removed, or at least reduced, via appeal.
Intel has taken the matter to a panel of five judges at the General Court in Luxembourg, which is Europe's second highest, according to a Reuters report.
"The quality of evidence relied on by the Commission is profoundly inadequate. The analysis is hopelessly and irretrievably defective,"Intel's lawyer Nicholas Green stated to the court.
Intel received the $1.3 billion fine (1.06 billion euros) for offering rebates to customers like Dell, HP, and Lenovo with contract terms that "carefully camouflaged its anti-competitive practices." As the EU sees it, Intel was trying to squeeze out AMD, and rewarded OEMs who fell in line.
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