EU Court Withdraws €1.06 billion Intel Antitrust Fine

[TheLostSwede]

Remember that €1.06 billion antitrust lawsuit that Intel was slapped with by the European Commission back in 2009? It's ok if you don't, but it involved Intel being accused of "market malpractice, by influencing computer hardware manufacturers to postpone and/or cancel launches of their products that use CPUs made by its rival AMD" based on our own reporting from 2009. As these thing goes, Intel appealed to a higher court and that higher court handed back the case to the lower court who has now withdrawn the fine and the judges went as far as to say "The (European) Commission's analysis is incomplete and does not make it possible to establish to the requisite legal standard that the rebates at issue were capable of having, or likely to have, anticompetitive effects,".

The European Commission has said it will study the new judgement and will consider its next steps, but it seems unlikely that they'll be able to bring this case to court again, without some additional proof of wrongdoing. The end result of this is also likely to make it tougher to bring cases like to court in the future for the European Commission, as they will have to provide more detailed cases where they prove that things like MDF and rebates to their customers cause real, anti-competitive damages to other companies in the same line of business, in this case AMD. The case can still be appealed to the CJEU, so this 13 year saga might still not be over.



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[zlobby]

That's why we can't have nice things.

Maybe this is because intel gave EU the finger in their upcoming CPU initiative?

 

[Fluffmeister]

That's why we can't have nice things.

Maybe this is because intel gave EU the finger in their upcoming CPU initiative?

No doubt having a new Intel fab built in the EU helps sway their minds.

 

[kruk]

Wow, I can't believe that I was thinking about buying their 75W dGPU if it would turn out to be good. Well, now I hope it's going to be Larrabee 2.0 and that it's going to produce them some massive losses ...

 

[RH92]

No doubt having a new Intel fab built in the EU helps sway their minds.

Bingo , unfortunately EU as a whole is a joke when it comes to law !

 

[phanbuey]

Wow, I can't believe that I was thinking about buying their 75W dGPU if it would turn out to be good. Well, now I hope it's going to be Larrabee 2.0 and that it's going to produce them some massive losses ...

Right? Because it is was totally the same people from 20 years ago that are working on that.

 

[RH92]

Wow, I can't believe that I was thinking about buying their 75W dGPU if it would turn out to be good. Well, now I hope it's going to be Larrabee 2.0 and that it's going to produce them some massive losses ...

That's a pretty poor take imo , if their product fits your need/budget then there is no reason to not get it . As for the rest well yeah as much as it sucks Intel is doing what any other multi-billion corporation will/would do , take advantage of capitalism to bend the law . We should be pissed about EU ( or those who make the laws in general ) in this case not Intel .

 

[john_]

"The (European) Commission's analysis is incomplete and does not make it possible to establish to the requisite legal standard that the rebates at issue were capable of having, or likely to have, anticompetitive effects,".

Translation

Would you please build a plant in EU, our beloved Intel? PLeaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[z1n0x]

Bingo , unfortunately EU as a whole is a joke when it comes to law !

The entire EU is a joke. The leadership are muppets with no mind or will of their own. That will go against the interests of its people, just to please the boss across the ocean. Latest geopolitical events represent that perfectly. Guess who will pay the bill in the end.

 

[Imsochobo]

Translation

Spot on!

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Translation

I'd a went for the Neal & Bob routine.

 

[5 o'clock Charlie]

@TheLostSwede, is it me or does that kitchen look similar to Jensen's kitchen when he revealed the Ampere cards? Was hoping for some "baked chips" instead of turkey

 

[Xuper]

Did Intel pay Fine or not?

 

[mechtech]

Was Pat even around 13 years ago??

 

[TheLostSwede]

@TheLostSwede, is it me or does that kitchen look similar to Jensen's kitchen when he revealed the Ampere cards? Was hoping for some "baked chips" instead of turkey

Maybe they share a home?
I was trying for a chicken dinner, but this was the best I could do.

 

[watzupken]

No doubt having a new Intel fab built in the EU helps sway their minds.

I was thinking the same thing. The timing cannot be that coincidental.

 

[R0H1T]

Because it is was totally the same people from 20 years ago that are working on that.

It's the same company! If I was in their (EU) shoes I'd have fined Intel 2x that amount

Did Intel pay Fine or not?

Not a single dime from what I remember, sh!tty company with deep pockets & more lawyers than board members

take advantage of capitalism to bend the law .

It was outside of the law i.e. totally illegal capische, comprende?

The fines should be commensurate to the extent that such corporations never try to pull that same sh!t ever again! But I guess when you're big enough they just let you do it

 

[sith'ari]

when did all this happen ? yesterday ?

 

[Vya Domus]

How curios that this coincides with rumors of fabs being built in EU. Whatever, even though they technically got away with it they achieved nothing in the end, AMD is a as big of thorn in their sides as ever. They've embarrassed themselves enough with or without a fine.

 

[Jism]

Intel might have spend, a million perhaps in lawyer costs, and roughly 12 years of procedures, but in the end they managed to get away with it. Appearantly the EU does'nt know the practices that appear in the USA. Stalling and throwing lots of lawsuits at it.

AMD did got hurt by practices of Intel. How many stores only sold Intel products while AMD was on the better lead overall? Athlon, A64 etc. I'm glad i never spend any dime in Intel products since the K6 era.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

Intel might have spend, a million perhaps in lawyer costs, and roughly 12 years of procedures, but in the end they managed to get away with it. Appearantly the EU does'nt know the practices that appear in the USA. Stalling and throwing lots of lawsuits at it.

AMD did got hurt by practices of Intel. How many stores only sold Intel products while AMD was on the better lead overall? Athlon, A64 etc. I'm glad i never spend any dime in Intel products since the K6 era.

Right on.....love the name BTW

 

[Imsochobo]

Was Pat even around 13 years ago??

yes, 1987 to 2009, then 2021 until present.

 

[mechtech]

yes, 1987 to 2009, then 2021 until present.

Ya but not ceo, until now

 

[stimpy88]

Amazing what the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan will do. I feel for AMD being the looser in this. Intel is truly a shady company, and now has a license to do whatever it wants without threat of punishment.

 

[sith'ari]

Amazing what the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan will do. I feel for AMD being the looser in this. Intel is truly a shady company, and now has a license to do whatever it wants without threat of punishment.

Well , to be fair , i think that IF the information of Jim's AdoredTV video about this case is accurate , AMD is somewhat responsible for the outcome that we are seeing today.
According to this video

(which i think is one of Jim's greatest moments) during the European Commission's verdict ,many details had remain hidden from the public ,because certain EU laws were giving Intel(and other companies involved) the right to hide from the public , documents that could be considered as "confidential" by those companies (17:24 of the video) .
According to the video , this would change when the New York Attorney General also filed a (Federal antitrust) lawsuit against Intel and in that upcoming trial the public would be informed about all these confidential documents (19:40 of the video) .
It was at this moment that AMD chose to settle with Intel ,thus not only ending the Federal case before the public knows about all the facts , but also leaving the EU's case legally compromised as it was proved with the recent news we read in this TPU thread.