PARALLEL TEXTS
Il Tribunale conferma l’ammenda di 1,06 miliardi di euro inflitta a Intel per aver abusato della sua posizione dominante sul mercato dei processori x86 tra il 2002 e il 2007
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-14-82_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-14-82_it.htm
Data documento: 12-06-2014
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The General Court upholds the fine of €1.06 billion imposed on Intel for having abused its dominant position on the market for x86 central processing units between 2002 and 2007
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Il Tribunale conferma l’ammenda di 1,06 miliardi di euro inflitta a Intel per aver abusato della sua posizione dominante sul mercato dei processori x86 tra il 2002 e il 2007
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2 |
Intel’s action against the Commission’s decision is dismissed in its entirety
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Il ricorso di Intel contro la decisione della Commissione è integralmente respinto
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3 |
By decision of 13 May 2009 the Commission imposed a fine of €1.06 billion on Intel, the American microchip manufacturer, for having abused its dominant position on the market for x86 central processing units (CPUs), in infringement of the competition rules of the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA).
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Con decisione del 13 maggio 2009, la Commissione ha inflitto al produttore americano di microprocessori Intel un’ammenda di 1,06 miliardi di euro per aver abusato della sua posizione dominante sul mercato dei processori x86, in violazione delle regole di concorrenza dell’Unione europea e dello Spazio economico europeo (SEE).
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Moreover, the Commission ordered Intel immediately to bring an end to that infringement in so far as it had not already done so.
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La Commissione ha altresì ordinato a Intel di porre immediatamente fine all'infrazione, qualora non lo avesse già fatto.
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According to the Commission, Intel abused its dominant position on the worldwide market for x86 CPUs from October 2002 to October 2007, by implementing a strategy aimed at foreclosing from the market its only serious competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
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Secondo la Commissione, Intel ha abusato della sua posizione dominante sul mercato mondiale dei processori x86 nel periodo tra l’ottobre 2002 e il 2007, mettendo in atto una strategia volta a estromettere dal mercato il suo unico concorrente effettivo, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
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The Commission considered that Intel was in a dominant position on the ground that it held a market share of roughly 70%, or more, and that it was extremely difficult for competitors to enter the market and to expand as a result of the unrecoverable nature of investments to be made in research and development, intellectual property and production facilities.
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La Commissione ha ritenuto che Intel occupasse una posizione dominante in quanto deteneva circa il 70%, o più, delle quote di mercato ed era estremamente difficile per i concorrenti accedere e svilupparsi sul mercato a causa del carattere irrecuperabile degli investimenti nella ricerca e sviluppo, nella proprietà intellettuale e negli impianti di produzione.
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Given its strong dominant position, Intel was an unavoidable supplier of x86 CPUs since customers had no choice other than to obtain part of their requirements from Intel.
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Stante la sua forte posizione dominante, Intel era un fornitore di processori x86 imprescindibile, non avendo i clienti altra scelta che quella di rifornirsi presso tale società per soddisfare una parte del loro fabbisogno.
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According to the Commission, the abuse was characterised by several measures adopted by Intel vis-à-vis its own customers (computer manufacturers) and the European retailer of microelectronic devices, Media-Saturn-Holding.
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Ad avviso della Commissione, l’abuso era caratterizzato da varie misure adottate da Intel nei confronti dei propri clienti (produttori di computer) e del rivenditore europeo di dispositivi microelettronici Media-Saturn-Holding.
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Accordingly, Intel granted rebates to four major computer manufacturers (Dell, Lenovo, HP and NEC) on the condition that they purchased from Intel all or almost all of their x86 CPUs.
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Intel ha applicato a quattro importanti produttori di computer (Dell, Lenovo, HP et NEC) sconti condizionati al fatto che questi si rifornissero dalla stessa per tutto, o quasi tutto, il loro fabbisogno di processori x86.
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Similarly, Intel awarded payments to Media-Saturn, which were conditioned on its selling exclusively computers containing Intel’s x86 CPUs.
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Allo stesso modo, Intel ha accordato pagamenti a Media-Saturn sottoposti alla condizione che quest’ultima vendesse esclusivamente computer dotati di processori x86 di Intel.
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According to the Commission, those rebates and payments induced the loyalty of the four manufacturers listed above and of Media-Saturn and thus significantly diminished the ability of Intel’s competitors to compete on the merits of their x86 CPUs.
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Secondo la Commissione, tali sconti e pagamenti hanno garantito la fedeltà dei quattro produttori sopra menzionati e di Media-Saturn e, in tal modo, hanno ridotto in modo significativo la capacità dei concorrenti di Intel di competere grazie ai meriti dei loro processori x86.
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Intel’s anti-competitive conduct thereby resulted in a reduction of consumer choice and in lower incentives to innovate.
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Il comportamento anticoncorrenziale di Intel ha quindi contribuito a ridurre la scelta offerta ai consumatori nonché gli incentivi all’innovazione.
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Moreover, Intel awarded three computer manufacturers (HP, Acer and Lenovo) payments which were conditional upon their postponing or cancelling the launch of AMD CPU-based products and/or putting restrictions on the distribution of those products.
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Inoltre, Intel ha accordato a tre produttori di computer (HP, Acer e Lenovo) pagamenti subordinati alla condizione che essi differissero o annullassero il lancio di prodotti dotati di processori di AMD e/o ne limitassero la distribuzione.
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On the basis of the 2006 Guidelines, the Commission imposed a fine on Intel of €1.06 billion, which is the highest fine ever imposed by the Commission on a single company for an infringement of the competition rules.
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In applicazione degli orientamenti del 2006, la Commissione ha stabilito l’ammenda inflitta a Intel in 1,06 miliardi di euro. Si tratta dell’ammenda più ingente che sia mai stata inflitta dalla Commissione a una singola società nell’ambito di un’infrazione alle regole di concorrenza.
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Intel brought an action against the Commission’s decision before the General Court, seeking the annulment of that decision or, at least, a substantial reduction of the fine.
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Intel ha proposto ricorso avverso la decisione della Commissione dinanzi al Tribunale, chiedendo l’annullamento di tale decisione o, in subordine, una sostanziale riduzione dell’ammenda.
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In today’s judgment, the General Court dismisses the action and thus upholds the Commission’s decision.
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Con l’odierna sentenza, il Tribunale respinge il ricorso e pertanto conferma la decisione della Commissione.
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The General Court finds, inter alia, that the rebates granted to Dell, HP, NEC and Lenovo are exclusivity rebates.
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Il Tribunale dichiara, in particolare, che gli sconti applicati a Dell, HP, NEC e Lenovo sono sconti di esclusiva.
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Such rebates are, when applied by an undertaking in a dominant position, incompatible with the objective of undistorted competition within the common market.
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Sconti di questo tipo – ove siano accordati da un’impresa in posizione dominante ? sono incompatibili con l’obiettivo di una concorrenza non falsata nel mercato comune.
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They are not based – save in exceptional circumstances – on an economic transaction which justifies such a financial advantage, but are designed to remove or restrict the purchaser’s freedom to choose his sources of supply and to deny other producers access to the market.
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Infatti, salvo circostanze eccezionali, essi non si basano su una prestazione economica idonea a giustificare un tale vantaggio finanziario, ma mirano a sopprimere o a restringere la possibilità per l’acquirente di scegliere liberamente le proprie fonti di approvvigionamento e a bloccare l’accesso al mercato agli altri produttori.
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That type of rebate constitutes an abuse of a dominant position if there is no objective justification for granting it.
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Questo tipo di sconto costituisce un abuso di posizione dominante qualora non sussista alcuna giustificazione obiettiva per la sua applicazione.
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Exclusivity rebates granted by an undertaking in a dominant position are, by their very nature, capable of restricting competition and foreclosing competitors from the market.
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Gli sconti di esclusiva accordati da un’impresa in posizione dominante sono, per loro stessa natura, idonei a restringere la concorrenza e ad estromettere i concorrenti dal mercato.
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It is thus not necessary to show that they are capable of restricting competition on a case by case basis in the light of the facts of the individual case.
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Pertanto, non è necessario dimostrare la loro capacità di restringere la concorrenza caso per caso alla luce delle circostanze della singola fattispecie.
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In that regard, the General Court states that, in order to submit an attractive offer, it is not sufficient for a competitor to offer Intel’s customer attractive conditions for the units that that competitor can itself supply to the customer;
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A tal riguardo, il Tribunale osserva che, per presentare un’offerta attraente, un concorrente deve offrire al cliente di Intel non solo condizioni vantaggiose per i prodotti che esso può fornire.
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it must also offer that customer compensation for the potential loss of the exclusivity rebate for having switched supplier.
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Tale concorrente deve anche compensare il fatto che il cliente di Intel rischia di perdere lo sconto di esclusiva per aver preferito approvvigionarsi presso di lui.
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In order to submit an attractive offer, the competitor must therefore apportion solely to the share which it is able to offer the customer the rebate granted by Intel in respect of all or almost all of the customer’s requirements (including the requirements which Intel alone – as an unavoidable supplier – is able to satisfy).
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Per poter presentare un’offerta attraente, il concorrente deve pertanto ripartire, sulla sola quota che esso è in grado di proporre al cliente, lo sconto accordato da Intel per la totalità o la quasi totalità del fabbisogno del cliente (ivi incluso il fabbisogno che Intel, in quanto fornitore imprescindibile, è la sola in grado di soddisfare).
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Given that exclusivity rebates granted by an undertaking in a dominant position are, by their very nature, capable of restricting competition, the Commission was not required, contrary to what Intel claims, to make an assessment of the circumstances of the case in order to show that the rebates actually or potentially had the effect of foreclosing competitors from the market.
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Dato che gli sconti di esclusiva accordati da un’impresa in posizione dominante sono, per loro stessa natura, idonei a restringere la concorrenza, la Commissione non era obbligata, contrariamente a quanto sostiene Intel, a procedere a una valutazione delle circostanze del caso in esame al fine di dimostrare che gli sconti avessero, in concreto o potenzialmente, l’effetto di estromettere i concorrenti dal mercato.
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The General Court finds, in that context, that it is not necessary to examine, by means of the ‘as efficient competitor test’, whether the Commission correctly assessed the ability of the rebates to foreclose a competitor as efficient as Intel.
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Di conseguenza, il Tribunale afferma che non è necessario esaminare, sulla base del criterio noto in inglese come «as efficient competitor test», se la Commissione abbia correttamente verificato l’idoneità degli sconti ad estromettere un concorrente tanto efficiente quanto Intel.
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More precisely, such a test establishes at what price a competitor as efficient as the undertaking in a dominant position would have had to offer its products in order to compensate a customer for the loss of the rebate granted by the undertaking in a dominant position.
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In concreto, un criterio di questo tipo è volto a determinare il prezzo al quale un concorrente efficiente quanto l’impresa in posizione dominante avrebbe dovuto proporre i suoi prodotti al fine di indennizzare un cliente per la perdita dello sconto accordato dall’impresa in posizione dominante.
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Since the exclusivity rebates granted by an undertaking in a dominant position are, by their very nature, capable of restricting competition, the Commission was not required to show, in its analysis of the circumstances of the case, that the rebates granted by Intel were capable of foreclosing AMD from the market.
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Dato che gli sconti di esclusiva accordati da un’impresa in posizione dominante sono, per loro stessa natura, idonei a restringere la concorrenza, la Commissione non era obbligata a dimostrare, nell’ambito di un’analisi delle circostanze del caso di specie, che gli sconti accordati dall’Intel fossero idonei ad estromettere AMD dal mercato.
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Moreover, even if the competitor were still able to cover its costs in spite of the rebates granted, that would not mean that the foreclosure effect did not exist.
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Inoltre, anche qualora il concorrente fosse stato sempre in grado di coprire i propri costi malgrado gli sconti accordati, ciò non significherebbe che non esistevano effetti di estromissione.
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The mechanism of the exclusivity rebates is such as to make access to the market more difficult for competitors of the undertaking in a dominant position, even if that access is not economically impossible.
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Infatti, il meccanismo degli sconti di esclusiva è tale da ostacolare l’accesso al mercato per i concorrenti dell’impresa in posizione dominante, anche nel caso in cui tale accesso non sia impossibile da un punto di vista economico.
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In so far as concerns the payments granted to Media-Saturn, the General Court finds that the same anti-competitive mechanism was in place as with the practices adopted vis-à-vis the computer manufacturers, but at a stage further down the supply chain.
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Riguardo ai pagamenti accordati a Media-Saturn, il Tribunale constata che si tratta dello stesso meccanismo anticoncorrenziale delle pratiche adottate nei confronti dei produttori di computer, ma a uno stadio situato più a valle nella catena di approvvigionamento.
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The Commission was thus not required to examine, in the light of the facts of the case, whether those payments were such as to restrict competition.
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Pertanto, la Commissione non era obbligata ad esaminare, alla luce delle circostanze del caso concreto, se tali pagamenti fossero idonei a restringere la concorrenza.
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It was required only to demonstrate that Intel had granted a financial incentive which was subject to an exclusivity condition.
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Essa doveva soltanto dimostrare che Intel aveva concesso un incentivo finanziario soggetto a una condizione di esclusiva.
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Even supposing that the Commission was required to show, on a case by case basis, that the exclusivity rebates and payments granted to Dell, HP, NEC, Lenovo and Media-Saturn were capable of restricting competition, the General Court considers that the Commission demonstrated that capability to the requisite legal standard in its analysis of the facts of the case.
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Il Tribunale ritiene che, anche supponendo che la Commissione fosse obbligata a dimostrare caso per caso l’idoneità degli sconti e dei pagamenti di esclusiva accordati a Dell, HP, NEC, Lenovo e Media-Saturn a restringere la concorrenza, essa ha dimostrato tale idoneità in modo adeguato nell’ambito del suo esame delle circostanze del caso di specie.
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36 |
As regards the payments made to HP, Acer and Lenovo for them to postpone, cancel or restrict the marketing of certain products equipped with AMD CPUs, the General Court finds that those payments were capable of making access to the market more difficult for AMD.
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Quanto ai pagamenti effettuati in favore di HP, Acer e Lenovo allo scopo di ritardare, di annullare o di restringere la distribuzione di alcuni prodotti dotati di processori AMD, il Tribunale afferma che essi erano tali da ostacolare l’accesso di AMD al mercato.
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It also finds that Intel pursued an anti-competitive object, since the only interest that an undertaking in a dominant position may have in preventing in a targeted manner the marketing of products equipped with a product of a specific competitor is to harm that competitor.
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Esso dichiara altresì che Intel ha perseguito un oggetto anticoncorrenziale, dato che il solo interesse che può avere un’impresa in posizione dominante ad impedire in modo mirato la distribuzione di prodotti che incorporano il prodotto di un determinato concorrente è quello di nuocere a tale concorrente.
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Such practices clearly fall outside the scope of competition on the merits.
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Pratiche di questo tipo non rientrano, ovviamente, in una concorrenza basata sui meriti.
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Those practices, which the Commission terms ‘naked restrictions’, amount to an abuse of a dominant position.
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Tali pratiche, denominate dalla Commissione «restrizioni allo scoperto», rappresentano un abuso di posizione dominante.
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In so far as concerns the question whether the Commission had jurisdiction under international law to punish Intel for its anti-competitive conduct, the General Court observes that such jurisdiction can be established on the basis of both the implementation and the effects of the anti-competitive conduct in the European Union.
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Riguardo alla questione se la Commissione fosse territorialmente competente, ai sensi del diritto internazionale, a sanzionare il comportamento anticoncorrenziale di Intel, il Tribunale osserva che una simile competenza può essere dichiarata sulla base tanto dell’attuazione quanto degli effetti del comportamento anticoncorrenziale all’interno dell’Unione.
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In that regard, the General Court finds that the conduct of Intel to which the Commission refers in the contested decision was capable of having a substantial, immediate and foreseeable effect within the EEA.
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Il Tribunale dichiara a tal proposito che la condotta addebitata a Intel nella decisione della Commissione era tale da produrre un effetto sostanziale, immediato e prevedibile nell’ambito del SEE.
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Accordingly, the Commission had jurisdiction to punish that conduct.
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La Commissione era, quindi, competente a sanzionare detto comportamento.
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Moreover, the General Court finds that the Commission showed to the requisite legal standard the existence of the exclusivity rebates and the naked restrictions at issue in its decision.
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Il Tribunale rileva inoltre che la Commissione ha dimostrato in modo adeguato l’esistenza degli sconti di esclusiva e delle restrizioni allo scoperto oggetto della sua decisione.
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It rejects Intel’s arguments seeking to call into question the findings made in that regard by the Commission.
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Esso respinge gli argomenti di Intel volti a rimettere in discussione le constatazioni a tal riguardo effettuate dalla Commissione.
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Furthermore, in the view of the General Court, the Commission demonstrated to the requisite legal standard that Intel attempted to conceal the anti-competitive nature of its practices and implemented a long term comprehensive strategy to foreclose AMD from the strategically most important sales channels.
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Peraltro, secondo il Tribunale, la Commissione ha dimostrato in modo adeguato che Intel ha tentato di occultare la natura anticoncorrenziale delle sue pratiche e ha messo in atto una strategia complessiva a lungo termine volta a bloccare l’accesso di AMD ai canali di vendita più importanti da un punto di vista strategico.
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Finally, the General Court considers that none of the arguments raised by Intel supports the conclusion that the fine imposed is disproportionate.
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Infine, il Tribunale dichiara che nessuno degli argomenti dedotti da Intel consente di affermare che l’ammenda inflitta sia sproporzionata.
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On the contrary, it must be considered that that fine is appropriate in the light of the facts of the case.
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Al contrario, si deve ritenere che tale ammenda sia adeguata alle circostanze del caso in esame.
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The General Court states, inter alia, that the Commission set the proportion of the value of sales, determined on the basis of the gravity of the infringement, at 5%, which is at the lower end of the scale which can go up to 30%.
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Il Tribunale osserva, in particolare, che la Commissione ha fissato la percentuale del valore delle vendite determinata in base alla gravità nella misura del 5%, che si colloca nella fascia bassa della scala, la quale può arrivare fino al 30%.
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Moreover, the fine is equivalent to 4.15% of Intel’s annual turnover, which is well below the 10% ceiling provided for.
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Peraltro, l’ammenda equivale al 4,15% del fatturato annuo di Intel, quindi si colloca al di sotto del tetto massimo previsto del 10%.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months of notification of the decision.
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Contro la decisione del Tribunale, entro due mesi a decorrere dalla data della sua notifica, può essere proposta un'impugnazione, limitata alle questioni di diritto, dinanzi alla Corte.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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53 |
An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions of the European Union that are contrary to European Union law.
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Il ricorso di annullamento mira a far annullare atti delle istituzioni dell’Unione contrari al diritto dell’Unione.
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The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under certain conditions, bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or the General Court.
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A determinate condizioni, gli Stati membri, le istituzioni europee e i privati possono investire la Corte di giustizia o il Tribunale di un ricorso di annullamento.
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If the action is well founded, the act is annulled.
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Se il ricorso è fondato, l'atto viene annullato.
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The institution concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment of the act. |
L'istituzione interessata deve rimediare all’eventuale lacuna giuridica creata dall’annullamento dell’atto. |
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The General Court upholds the fine of €1.06 billion imposed on Intel for
having abused its dominant position on the market for x86 central processing
units between 2002 and 2007
Intel’s action against the Commission’s decision is dismissed in its
entirety
By decision of 13 May 2009 the Commission imposed a fine of €1.06 billion on
Intel, the American microchip manufacturer, for having abused its dominant
position on the market for x86 central processing units (CPUs), in infringement
of the competition rules of the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA).
Moreover, the Commission ordered Intel immediately to bring an end to that
infringement in so far as it had not already done so.
According to the Commission, Intel abused its dominant position on the
worldwide market for x86 CPUs from October 2002 to October 2007, by implementing
a strategy aimed at foreclosing from the market its only serious competitor,
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).
The Commission considered that Intel was in a dominant position on the ground
that it held a market share of roughly 70%, or more, and that it was extremely
difficult for competitors to enter the market and to expand as a result of the
unrecoverable nature of investments to be made in research and development,
intellectual property and production facilities.
Given its strong dominant position, Intel was an unavoidable supplier of x86
CPUs since customers had no choice other than to obtain part of their
requirements from Intel.
According to the Commission, the abuse was characterised by several measures
adopted by Intel vis-à-vis its own customers (computer manufacturers) and the
European retailer of microelectronic devices, Media-Saturn-Holding.
Accordingly, Intel granted rebates to four major computer manufacturers
(Dell, Lenovo, HP and NEC) on the condition that they purchased from Intel all
or almost all of their x86 CPUs.
Similarly, Intel awarded payments to Media-Saturn, which were conditioned on
its selling exclusively computers containing Intel’s x86 CPUs.
According to the Commission, those rebates and payments induced the loyalty
of the four manufacturers listed above and of Media-Saturn and thus
significantly diminished the ability of Intel’s competitors to compete on the
merits of their x86 CPUs.
Intel’s anti-competitive conduct thereby resulted in a reduction of consumer
choice and in lower incentives to innovate.
Moreover, Intel awarded three computer manufacturers (HP, Acer and Lenovo)
payments which were conditional upon their postponing or cancelling the launch
of AMD CPU-based products and/or putting restrictions on the distribution of
those products.
On the basis of the 2006 Guidelines, the Commission imposed a fine on Intel
of €1.06 billion, which is the highest fine ever imposed by the Commission on a
single company for an infringement of the competition rules.
Intel brought an action against the Commission’s decision before the General
Court, seeking the annulment of that decision or, at least, a substantial
reduction of the fine.
In today’s judgment, the General Court dismisses the action and thus upholds
the Commission’s decision.
The General Court finds, inter alia, that the rebates granted to Dell, HP,
NEC and Lenovo are exclusivity rebates.
Such rebates are, when applied by an undertaking in a dominant position,
incompatible with the objective of undistorted competition within the common
market.
They are not based – save in exceptional circumstances – on an economic
transaction which justifies such a financial advantage, but are designed to
remove or restrict the purchaser’s freedom to choose his sources of supply and
to deny other producers access to the market.
That type of rebate constitutes an abuse of a dominant position if there is
no objective justification for granting it.
Exclusivity rebates granted by an undertaking in a dominant position are, by
their very nature, capable of restricting competition and foreclosing
competitors from the market.
It is thus not necessary to show that they are capable of restricting
competition on a case by case basis in the light of the facts of the individual
case.
In that regard, the General Court states that, in order to submit an
attractive offer, it is not sufficient for a competitor to offer Intel’s
customer attractive conditions for the units that that competitor can itself
supply to the customer;
it must also offer that customer compensation for the potential loss of the
exclusivity rebate for having switched supplier.
In order to submit an attractive offer, the competitor must therefore
apportion solely to the share which it is able to offer the customer the rebate
granted by Intel in respect of all or almost all of the customer’s requirements
(including the requirements which Intel alone – as an unavoidable supplier – is
able to satisfy).
Given that exclusivity rebates granted by an undertaking in a dominant
position are, by their very nature, capable of restricting competition, the
Commission was not required, contrary to what Intel claims, to make an
assessment of the circumstances of the case in order to show that the rebates
actually or potentially had the effect of foreclosing competitors from the
market.
The General Court finds, in that context, that it is not necessary to
examine, by means of the ‘as efficient competitor test’, whether the Commission
correctly assessed the ability of the rebates to foreclose a competitor as
efficient as Intel.
More precisely, such a test establishes at what price a competitor as
efficient as the undertaking in a dominant position would have had to offer its
products in order to compensate a customer for the loss of the rebate granted by
the undertaking in a dominant position.
Since the exclusivity rebates granted by an undertaking in a dominant
position are, by their very nature, capable of restricting competition, the
Commission was not required to show, in its analysis of the circumstances of the
case, that the rebates granted by Intel were capable of foreclosing AMD from the
market.
Moreover, even if the competitor were still able to cover its costs in spite
of the rebates granted, that would not mean that the foreclosure effect did not
exist.
The mechanism of the exclusivity rebates is such as to make access to the
market more difficult for competitors of the undertaking in a dominant position,
even if that access is not economically impossible.
In so far as concerns the payments granted to Media-Saturn, the General Court
finds that the same anti-competitive mechanism was in place as with the
practices adopted vis-à-vis the computer manufacturers, but at a stage further
down the supply chain.
The Commission was thus not required to examine, in the light of the facts of
the case, whether those payments were such as to restrict competition.
It was required only to demonstrate that Intel had granted a financial
incentive which was subject to an exclusivity condition.
Even supposing that the Commission was required to show, on a case by case
basis, that the exclusivity rebates and payments granted to Dell, HP, NEC,
Lenovo and Media-Saturn were capable of restricting competition, the General
Court considers that the Commission demonstrated that capability to the
requisite legal standard in its analysis of the facts of the case.
As regards the payments made to HP, Acer and Lenovo for them to postpone,
cancel or restrict the marketing of certain products equipped with AMD CPUs, the
General Court finds that those payments were capable of making access to the
market more difficult for AMD.
It also finds that Intel pursued an anti-competitive object, since the only
interest that an undertaking in a dominant position may have in preventing in a
targeted manner the marketing of products equipped with a product of a specific
competitor is to harm that competitor.
Such practices clearly fall outside the scope of competition on the merits.
Those practices, which the Commission terms ‘naked restrictions’, amount to
an abuse of a dominant position.
In so far as concerns the question whether the Commission had jurisdiction
under international law to punish Intel for its anti-competitive conduct, the
General Court observes that such jurisdiction can be established on the basis of
both the implementation and the effects of the anti-competitive conduct in the
European Union.
In that regard, the General Court finds that the conduct of Intel to which
the Commission refers in the contested decision was capable of having a
substantial, immediate and foreseeable effect within the EEA.
Accordingly, the Commission had jurisdiction to punish that conduct.
Moreover, the General Court finds that the Commission showed to the requisite
legal standard the existence of the exclusivity rebates and the naked
restrictions at issue in its decision.
It rejects Intel’s arguments seeking to call into question the findings made
in that regard by the Commission.
Furthermore, in the view of the General Court, the Commission demonstrated to
the requisite legal standard that Intel attempted to conceal the
anti-competitive nature of its practices and implemented a long term
comprehensive strategy to foreclose AMD from the strategically most important
sales channels.
Finally, the General Court considers that none of the arguments raised by
Intel supports the conclusion that the fine imposed is disproportionate.
On the contrary, it must be considered that that fine is appropriate in the
light of the facts of the case.
The General Court states, inter alia, that the Commission set the proportion
of the value of sales, determined on the basis of the gravity of the
infringement, at 5%, which is at the lower end of the scale which can go up to
30%.
Moreover, the fine is equivalent to 4.15% of Intel’s annual turnover, which
is well below the 10% ceiling provided for.
NOTE:
An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of
Justice against the decision of the General Court within two months of
notification of the decision.
NOTE:
An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions of
the European Union that are contrary to European Union law.
The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under
certain conditions, bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or
the General Court.
If the action is well founded, the act is annulled.
The institution concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment
of the act.
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