Intel Wins Historic Court Fight Over EU Antitrust Fine

Intel won a historic victory in its court fight over a record 1.06 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) competition fine, in a landmark ruling that upends one of the European Union's most important antitrust cases. From a report: The EU General Court ruled on Wednesday that regulators made key errors in a landmark 2009 decision over allegedly illegal rebates that the U.S. chip giant gave to PC makers to squeeze out rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). While the surprise ruling can be appealed one more time, it's a stinging defeat for the European Commission, which hasn't lost a big antitrust case in court for more than 20 years. The Luxembourg-based EU court said the commission provided an "incomplete" analysis when it fined Intel, criticizing it for failing to provide sufficient evidence to back up its findings of anti-competitive risks.

Not sure about Europe

[rsilvergun]

But in America the courts have been getting packed with pro corporate judges for 40+ years. They're going to be consequences. Expect prices to go up and inflation to get worse. Competition is just going to be a thing of the past and we're gradually going to become a kind of guild system. Assuming we don't change course. There's still time to do that.

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[Entrope]

Given that judges are human and don't usually start working right after college, it seems like 40+ years of "getting packed" should have been long enough to show effects. Instead, prices and inflation and competition correlate with other factors like helicopter drops of money.

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[drinkypoo]

Instead, prices and inflation and competition correlate with other factors like helicopter drops of money.

Nice idea, except they really don't. A number of corporations are making record profits during this period, yes, even when inflation is taken into account. Smaller businesses tend to be hurting, while larger ones tend to be raking it in right now, which is part of why the smaller ones are hurting — most of them can only raise prices so much because otherwise people will just buy stuff from a larger business, online if necessary. The inflation is not primarily being caused by printing money, but by a c

Re: Not sure about Europe

[NagrothAgain]

Show me an example of the Courts getting Packed. Or did you mean filled. Packing is a very specific term, where new positions are added so that balance can be upset, and only applies to Appointed positions.

Old hat for Americans

[OrangeTide]

has this been going on for 40+ years or 400+ years? I think we can point to examples such as the puppet governments built up around joint-stock companies in the early 1600's.

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[GoTeam]

Damn you Anne of Austria!!!

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[gweihir]

This is not really the "win" as which Intel wants to sell it. The likely outcome is that the commission will fix their reasoning and the well-deserved fine for Intel's criminal business practices will stand.

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[test321]

in America the courts have been getting packed with pro corporate

This is the second-highest EU court, there is a formal requirement of competence and independence, I guess comparable to USSC, but without the seemingly obligatory political bias.

Judges:
* require "independence beyond doubt" (TFEU art. 253/254);
* need to be approved by ALL EU governments (judges they cannot have an obvious political leaning, they would fail at the nomination consensus);
* also need to be approved by a committee of judges from national supreme courts;
* are one per Member State (EU countries ha

Vestager is not doing well at all

[david.emery]

Her expansive view of her authority under EU regulations is not holding up under judicial review. She lost big in the Apple tax case, too: https://www.politico.com/news/... [politico.com]

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[Joce640k]

That doesn't mean she was wrong, just that Apple had more expensive lawyers.

Re: Vestager is not doing well at all

[TuballoyThunder]

Effective. Expensive does not necessarily mean more effective in terms of getting the desired outcome. The unfortunate truth is that there are some lawyers who optimize to maximize the billable hours or their rate vice their client's success.

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[Luckyo]

Point being that she is succeeding the office of legendary Neelie Kroes, who took on megacorps with much greater "lawyer cost differential" as that office was far less well financed back then and won. And then her direct predecessor Joaquin Almunia who at least didn't lose case after case, keeping the fear among corporations up.

Under Margrethe Vestager this office seems to be losing the intimidation factor built up by her predecessors rapidly, as corporations are now winning cases against it in courts, rath

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[JackieBrown]

It doesn't mean either without more data.

Same story, no paywall

[drinkypoo]

https://www.bloombergquint.com... [bloombergquint.com]

yawn

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[test321]

The actual court decision https://curia.europa.eu/juris/... [europa.eu]

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[OrangeTide]

They probably put their kids through law school with just this one case. Oh great, more lawyers ...