European Commission Imposes Heavy Fine On Intel

(RTTNews) - The European Commission has imposed a fine of around 376.36 million euros on Intel for a previously established abuse of its dominant position in the market for computer chips called x86 central processing units.

Intel engaged in a series of anticompetitive practices aimed at excluding competitors from the relevant market in breach of EU antitrust rules, the Commission said Friday.

This is the second time that the European Commission has imposed a fine on the semiconductor chip giant. In 2009, the Commission fined Intel 1.06 billion euros after finding that it abused its dominant position in the market for x86 CPUs.

The company was found paying computer manufacturers to halt or delay the launch of specific products containing competitors' x86 CPUs and to limit the sales channels available to these products, called "naked restrictions."

These restrictions took place between November 2002 and December 2006 and consisted of payments made by Intel to three computer manufacturers - HP, Acer and Lenovo - to halt or delay the launch of specific products containing competitors' x86 CPUs and to limit the sales channels available to these products.

The Commission said that it has decided to re-impose a fine of around 376.36 million euros on Intel as Naked Restrictions constitute a serious infringement of Article 102 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.