Accusing the Europen Commission of erring in law and failing to meet the required standard of proof in its analysis of the evidence, Intel has sought a court order for the annulment in whole or in part of the antitrust regulator’s ruling against the company, according to a summary of the company’s appeal.
In July, the commission had levied a fine of $1.45 billion after a long-running dispute, on the grounds of antitrust violations. The charges alleged that the company was involved in secretly providing discounts to computer manufacturers who limited themselves to use more of its chips.
In its appeal to the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, Intel claimed that the European Commission, “errs in law by finding that the conditional discounts granted by Intel to its customers were abusive per se by virtue of them being conditional without establishing that they had an actual capability to foreclose competition.”
The chip maker claimed that the commission failed to meet the required standard of proof in its analysis of the evidence, and also failed to prove that Intel engaged in a long-term strategy to foreclose the competitors.
The company also stated that the commission failed, “to grant Intel an oral hearing in relation to the Supplementary Statement of Objections and Letter of Facts, even though they raised entirely new allegations and referred to new evidence which feature prominently in the contested decision.”
Intel had asked the court to annul in whole or in part of the commission’s decision or, alternatively, annul or reduce substantially the level of the fine imposed; and also order the commission to pay Intel’s costs.
