The European Commission has imposed a fine of EUR 1.06 billion on Intel for abuse of its dominant position on the market for computer chips. Intel is accused of engaging in illegal, anti-competitive practices to exclude competitors from the market for x86 central processing units (CPUs). In the period October 2002 to December 2007, Intel had at least a 70 percent share of the worldwide x86 CPU market. The commission found that Intel engaged in two specific forms of illegal practice. First, Intel gave wholly or partially hidden rebates to computer manufacturers on condition that they bought all, or almost all, their x86 CPUs from Intel. Intel also made direct payments to a major retailer on condition it stock only computers with Intel x86 CPUs. Such rebates and payments effectively prevented customers from choosing alternative products. Second, Intel made direct payments to 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. The commission ordered the company to immediately desist from the practices and said it will actively monitor Intel's compliance with the decision. The computer manufacturers concerned by Intel's conduct in the commission's decision are Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and NEC. The retailer concerned is Media Saturn Holding, owner of the MediaMarkt chain. The commission's investigation followed complaints from AMD in 2000, 2003 and 2006. Intel said in a statement that it finds the EC's decision wrong and lacking understanding of the "highly competitive" microprocessor market. The company denied any violations of European law and said it plans to appeal.
