The EU General Court’s Intel Judgment: Defining the Scope of Economic Analysis under Article 102 TFEU

On June 12, 2014, the EU General Court (the “General Court”, or the “Court”) upheld in its entirety a May 2009 decision of the EU Commission imposing a record fine of €1.06 billion on Intel for abusing its dominant position in the market for x86 central processing units (CPUs).

The General Court confirmed the Commission’s finding that Intel had acted unlawfully by granting rebates and other payments to a number of computer manufacturers, as well as Europe’s largest electronics retailer, Media Saturn, that were conditioned on exclusivity or quasi-exclusivity. The General Court’s judgment is significant as it confirms that, unless they are “objectively justified,” rebates granted by dominant undertakings that are conditioned on exclusivity will generally be considered abusive, without any evidence that they in fact produce any anti-competitive effects. This is so even if the customer does not commit to exclusivity, but only loses the rebate if it buys from others.

For more information, please read the attached memo.