Intel demands $625m in interest from Europe on overturned antitrust fine

Having successfully appealed Europe's €1.06bn ($1.2bn) antitrust fine, Intel now wants €593m ($623.5m) in interest charges. In January, after years of contesting the fine, the x86 chip giant finally overturned the penalty, and was told it didn't have to pay up after all. The US tech titan isn't stopping there, however, and now …

[ShadowSystems]

Oh FFS...

Will someone please slap the stupid out of that company? Pretty please, with a free pint on top?

[Trenjeska]

What interest?

With interest being negative, They should PAY the EU for safekeeping their money...

[heyrick]

Note that the court didn't say Intel was innocent, they said the commission fucked up and failed to directly prove that A led to B.

So... where's the popcorn icon?

[VoiceOfTruth]

Paid by the hour?

-> after more than a decade of debate

Pass round the biscuits again. We need to talk about this some more.

[david 12]

Manglement

Wait, Intel's anti-competitive behavior didn't actually have any anti-competitive effect?

Well, that was a major waste of money then :(

[Missing Semicolon]

Re: Manglement

Someone from Germany said "we want this chip factory. Make this go away" and the "independent, apolitical" European Court complied. The justification that the court has given is simply nonsense.

[Phil Kingston]

Wait, the fine was imposed in 2009 and it's still in the hands of lawyers? How the actual fuck does something take that long to sort out? And people think lawyers are nothing but money-grabbing con artists

[Anonymous Coward]

We are talking

about the E.U. aren't we? Speedy? They may have heard of the word but they will be clueless as to what it means.

Cheers... Ishy

[Potemkine!]

Re: We are talking

It's not only about the EU. When it's in hand of courts you may sometimes have to wait for a long, long time. Especially when several courts are involved (General Court, Court of Justice then General Court again....)

[NeilPost]

Re: We are talking

The WTO wheels turn just as slow. Look at the Boeing/Airbus debacle on whose subsidies received were bad/market disrupting.

[Barrie Shepherd]

It takes that long to ensure that the "..........lawyers are nothing but money-grabbing con artists"

[Missing Semicolon]

That's how these megacorps work. When called out for bad behaviour, they will appeal, and argue, and sue, and spend way more than they might save on lawyers. They have two aims. 1) no precedents, and 2) "nobody f*****s with us and wins. Just don't start".

[Ashto5]

Ban Intel from EU systems

Just make the decision to not use any intel chips within the EU institutions.

The EU will recoup the £650m payment in about 5 years.

The EU could make a deal with its suppliers to only use a another chipset exclusively and get a huge discount.

Job done move on.

[Phil O'Sophical]

Re: Ban Intel from EU systems

Just make the decision to not use any intel chips within the EU institutions.

Ah yes, like the German plans to drop Microsoft for Linux. Then they flipped back again. I can just see all those eurocrats being soooo pleased to be told that their Macs and Lenovos will be replaced by ARM-based Linux models.

[localzuk]

Re: Ban Intel from EU systems

You're forgetting AMD. Their chips are directly compatible. Stopping using Intel would not be a hardship.

[Phil O'Sophical]

Re: Ban Intel from EU systems

True, although that might run foul of competition law. I can certainly see Intel lawyers rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of their legal fees to challenge it.

[Ragarath]

Re: Ban Intel from EU systems

Is it not a free market, an institution choosing to choose one product over another is not anti-competitive.

I think you thought it meant that every person in the EU had to use AMD, what was actually said was the EU as an institution.

[Kabukiwookie]

Re: Ban Intel from EU systems

They didn't flip back due to technical reasons, but for financial incentives offered by MS.

Aka bribery.

[Ashto5]

£650m to pay the lawyers fees

Lawyers be having money fights in their plush offices.

Seniors the only ones allowed to use the Ben Franklin notes.

Ca-chiiinggg

[NeilPost]

FUCK OFF

Intel … please just F-U-C-K O-F-F.

… and we’ll give your money grubbing subsidies to Samsung or TSMC instead.

[Cliffwilliams44]

Anti-Competitive or just stupid competitors

Chip maker: Hey system maker, we'll give you a 10% rebate if you use our chips.

System Maker: Sweet! Thanks

Chip Competitor: Hey system maker, why are you not ordering our chips?

System maker: Well, Chip Maker is giving us a 10% rebate.

Chip Competitor: That's not fair, call the lawyers!

And no one wins, no one gets more business and the only ones making the money are the lawyers!

Why didn't the other manufacturers, i.e. AMD/ARM just offer an equal or better rebate! That's how competition works. But no! We can't use common sense, can't use negotiations, we have to immediately go to the lawyers! That's the major problem with the world today! TOO MANY LAWYERS!

[Lars]

Re: Anti-Competitive or just stupid competitors

"AMD/ARM just offer an equal or better rebate! ".

You seem to assume AMD/ARM.. knew about Intel's rebates and agreements, I am not so sure about that at all.

[aks]

Re: Anti-Competitive or just stupid competitors

It wasn't the lawyers who brought the case. The EU (and USA and UK) see such massive "fines" as a way to extort money from large, profitable companies.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Anti-Competitive or just stupid competitors

"Why didn't the other manufacturers, i.e. AMD/ARM just offer an equal or better rebate!"

Arm don't make "chips". Difficult concept for many Commentards but it bears repeating.

[Sam Crawley]

Re: Anti-Competitive or just stupid competitors

You're saying they just connect HAND to SHOULDER?

[Falmari]

Re: Anti-Competitive or just stupid competitors

@Cliffwilliams44 “Chip maker: Hey system maker, we'll give you a 10% rebate if you use our chips.”

But that is not what happened the rebates were conditional. The rebates themselves are not anticompetitive but the conditions maybe.

For example, purchase more than a certain number of intel chips to qualify for a rebate condition would not be anticompetitive. But a condition that required 80% of the PCs made by the system maker must use intel chips to qualify for a rebate would be anticompetitive.

[codejunky]

Hmm

Its not unreasonable that Intel wants the money it should have had if the EU didnt take the undue money from them. That it takes a decade and the EU are talking about appealing this will drag on for how long? How can we expect things to get done when the law can tie up resources for this long? I expect some happy lawyers though

[Marty McFly]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

This sounds like a bunch of grade school boys playing "mine's bigger" and never growing up....for 20 years.

[copeharder]

Eurofags seethe

Lmfao @ the hoards of seething eurofags in the comments mad because they sued Intel frivolously and lost. Intel just wants to reclaim some of the cash they would've made on the money had they not needed to set it aside for mouth foaming eurotrash.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Eurofags seethe

Welcome, Newbie Commentard Troll!