EU antitrust regulators relied on “profoundly inadequate” evidence in their case against Intel, the U.S. chipmaker said in court on Tuesday in a bid to quash a record 1.06 billion euro ($1.33 billion) fine.<\/p>\n
The European Commission penalised the world’s No.1 chipmaker three years ago for hindering arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices, after an eight-year investigation.<\/p>\n
The fine, which represented 4.15 percent of Intel’s 2008 turnover versus a possible maximum of 10 percent, was the biggest ever levied on a company.<\/p>\n
A panel of five judges at the General Court in Luxembourg, Europe’s second highest, will hear arguments from both the EU watchdog and Intel during the four-day hearing, in which the company wants its conviction and fine thrown out or reduced.<\/p>\n
The Commission did not have sufficient evidence of any wrongdoing by Intel and relied too much on subjective comments by the company’s customers, Intel’s lawyer Nicholas Green told the court.<\/p>\n
“The quality of evidence relied on by the Commission is profoundly inadequate. The analysis is hopelessly and irretrievably defective,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The Commission’s case turns on what customers’ subjective understanding is,” Green said.<\/p>\n
U.S. No.2 PC maker Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co, Japan’s NEC, world No.2 PC maker Lenovo and German retail chain Media Saturn Holding received rebates from Intel during the period investigated by the regulator.<\/p>\n
Lawyers for the Commission said this was at the core of Intel’s illegal business practice.<\/p>\n
“These kind of rebates can only be intended to tie customers and put competitors in an unfavourable position,” Commission lawyer Nicholas Khan told judges.<\/p>\n
He said contract wording also showed that “Intel carefully camouflaged its anti-competitive practices”.<\/p>\n
Intel gained backing from the European Ombudsman, who censured the Commission for procedural errors in its investigation.<\/p>\n
In his non-binding report issued five months after the regulatory finding, the Ombudsman said he had found “maladministration” because the regulator had failed to make a proper note of a meeting with Dell during its probe.<\/p>\n
The Association for Competitive Technology, a lobby group representing more than 3,000 small software developers and information technology firms, supported Intel.<\/p>\n
French consumer organisation Que choisir is backing the Commission’s position.<\/p>\n
The General Court is expected to rule in the coming months. Companies can appeal to the highest court, the EU Court of Justice, if they take their case further.<\/p>\n
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