According to a Wednesday report from Reuters, Intel must now comply with a decision in a long-running antitrust dispute originating in 2009. The firm has been unsuccessful in contesting a €376 million ($438.7 million) penalty from the European Commission, though the sum has been lowered to €237 million ($276.6 million).
The investigation kicked off in 2009, during the early stages of mobile computing and a surge in popularity for netbooks within the personal computer industry. Regulators determined that Intel breached competition rules in several ways, including offering undisclosed rebates to eliminate competitors from the processor sector for PCs. Additionally, the company compensated producers to postpone or abandon products featuring AMD chips.
The element addressed by the current penalty involves what regulators termed 'naked restrictions,' referring to exclusionary deals Intel struck with HP, Acer, and Lenovo from 2002 to 2006.
The judicial proceedings have seen repeated reversals over the years, as is common in such matters. In 2017, the European Union's top court mandated a fresh review, pointing to insufficient analysis of the economic impact of Intel's actions on competitors. Then, in 2022, a lower appeals court nullified the rebate-related segment of the penalty, with the EU Court of Justice affirming this ruling the following year. That original €1.06 billion ($1.2 billion) fine was thereby eliminated.
Following validation by European courts, the restrictions-based penalty took effect in 2023. Intel's recent attempt to nullify it as well has not succeeded, resulting only in a roughly one-third reduction from the original amount.
Although this ruling might suggest closure to the extended conflict, both the European Commission and Intel retain the option to escalate an appeal to the EU Court of Justice regarding legal interpretations. Further developments could emerge in the coming year.