Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) has gained another advantage in its ongoing legal battle with EU regulators over a record €1.06 billion antitrust fine. 

Advocate General Laila Medina of the EU’s Court of Justice stated in her non-binding opinion that the regulator’s effort to overturn Intel’s lower court victory should fail because they failed to prove Intel abused its dominant position in the PC chip market to hinder rivals. 

The European Commission, facing its first significant antitrust case loss in over two decades, appealed, arguing the General Court’s judgment was flawed. 

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The dispute centered around Intel’s economic case analysis and whether competitive risks came from rivals’ inefficiency or Intel’s alleged abusive actions.

During the antitrust investigation, the Commission claimed Intel restricted competition from 2002 to 2005 by offering rebates to computer manufacturers if they purchased most of their PC chips from Intel. 

The Commission asserted that Intel imposed restrictive conditions on the remaining 5% of chips supplied by AMD, reinforcing its dominance in the processor market.

The Commission recently reimposed a minor fine on Intel for abusing its dominant position in the x86 central processing unit market. 

This action came after the regulators found Intel engaged in practices aimed at excluding competitors, violating EU antitrust rules. 

Intel is appealing against this new fine and has sued the Commission to recover €593 million in interest.

Key topics included Apple’s need to allow app distribution outside its App Store, ongoing competition cases, and Google’s approach to self-preferencing about the DMA. 

These meetings are crucial in shaping the operations of major tech companies within the EU, ensuring they comply with evolving digital and competition regulations. 

Price Action: INTC shares were up 2.61% to $47.25 on last check Thursday.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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