EU Charges Intel With Anti-Competitive Behavior

The European Union Friday accused chip maker Intel of anti-competitive behavior by paying off an OEM to delay or cancel a product line that would use processors from rival Advanced Micro Devices, as well as offering substantial rebates to various computer makers to use primarily Intel chips instead of AMD's.

In a statement, the EU said it had sent a Statement of Objections to Intel after conducting an investigation. In the probe, its investigators determined Intel abused its dominant market position in at least three separate ways.

"First, Intel has provided substantial rebates to various Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) conditional on them obtaining all or the great majority of their CPU requirements from Intel," the EU said in its statement.

"Secondly, in a number of instances, Intel made payments in order to induce an OEM to either delay or cancel the launch of a product line incorporating an AMD-based CPU. Thirdly, in the context of bids against AMD-based products for strategic customers in the server segment of the market, Intel has offered CPUs on average below cost," the statement continued.

It added that while it believes each action was a separate abuse of power, "However, the Commission also considers at this stage of its analysis that the three types of conduct reinforce each other and are part of a single overall anti-competitive strategy."

The charges are not new for Intel. Earlier this year, lawyers filed suit in a class-action case that accused Intel of providing, essentially, under-the-table payments to PC maker Dell, Round Rock, Texas, in exchange for Dell's promise it would be an Intel-only PC maker. The suit named both Intel and Dell as defendants but has since been consolidated with several other cases involving Dell. Intel denied wrongdoing in that case, saying the allegations in the civil suit appeared to have been made up. Dell has declined to comment on those allegations.

In a statement, Bruce Sewell, Intel's senior vice president and general counsel, defended the company and said its actions in Europe benefitted consumers.

"We are confident that the microprocessor market segment is functioning normally and that Intel's conduct has been lawful, pro-competitive and beneficial to consumers," Sewell said in the statement. "While we would certainly have preferred to avoid the cost and inconvenience of establishing that our competitive conduct in Europe has been lawful, the Commission's decision to issue a Statement of Objections means that at last Intel will have the opportunity to hear and respond to the allegations made by our primary competitor."

Tweet

   

More Channel Programs