intel Intel fights record $1.2 billion antitrust fine at top EU court

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Intel Corp. attacked the European Commission for being unfair in a probe that led to a record 1.06 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) fine.

The key issue in the investigation was loyalty rebates to lower retail prices, Daniel Beard, a lawyer for Intel, told the European Union’s Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Tuesday.  But the European Commission failed to analyze “all relevant circumstances” to see if the rebates shut out rivals, he said.

The world’s biggest chipmaker is making a final attempt to overturn the penalty doled out in 2009 for unfairly squeezing out Advanced Micro Devices Inc. No date for a ruling has been set.

Two years ago, the EU General Court rejected Intel’s first appeal. That ruling was a timely boost to the Brussels-based European Commission, which is embroiled in lengthy probes of search engine giant Google and chip designer Qualcomm Inc. Regulators say Google gave financial incentives to telecommunications operators and phone makers that install its search app. They also allege Qualcomm paid a smartphone and tablet manufacturer to mostly use its chips.

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