News Desk
European Star Chamber Strikes Again
It won't let Intel defend itself against antitrust charges
Feb. 27, 2009 12:15 PM
The European Commission says it won't let Intel defend itself against antitrust charges that it has squeezed AMD out of the market at the oral hearing that Intel has requested and that usually caps such findings.
It's being punished for missing the EC's October 17 deadline for answering the EC's statement of objections.
It only responded on February 5 because of its unprecedented appeal to the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg trying to get the Commission to retrieve some reportedly exculpatory evidence from AMD that surfaced during discovery in AMD's private antitrust suit against Intel in the U.S. but Intel can't just hand to the EC.
The court finally ruled that Intel was premature.
It also sounds like the EC may ignore Intel's response. It said in a statement that it will "assess whether the information submitted on February 5 is necessary to properly conduct the administrative procedure in this antitrust case."
A final determination is expected sometime between now and the fall with the smart money betting that Intel is found guilty and appeals.
About Maureen O'GaraMaureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.
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