Intel loses appeal against $1.44 billion European antitrust fine

Intel lost its appeal against a €1.06 billion ($1.44 billion) antitrust fine when the General Court of the European Union upheld a 2009 ruling by the European Commission that the company had abused its dominant market position.

The Commission had found that Intel had abused its dominant position by offering rebates to customers on the condition they buy all their x86 CPUs from the company. The General Court dismissed in its entirety Intel's appeal and ordered the chip giant to implement conditions imposed by the Commission in its original ruling to rectify the market situation. According to the Commission, with 70 percent or more of the worldwide market, Intel was an "unavoidable supplier" of CPUs, an essential component of any computer.