Intel Corp. has asked Europe's second highest court to annul last May's antitrust ruling against the company, accusing the regulators of erring in law and of producing sloppy analysis, according to details of the appeal made public today.

The European Commission, the European Union's top antitrust authority, fined Intel a record $1.45 billion in May for abusing its dominant position in the microprocessor chip market in Europe, at the expense of its only significant rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

The commission ordered Intel to stop handing out rebates to PC manufacturers and retailers on condition of near or total exclusivity. It also ordered Intel to stop paying PC makers to delay the launch of models equipped with AMD chips.

In its appeal to the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg, Intel said the commission erred in law by finding that the conditional discounts it granted were abusive because the regulator failed to prove any actual foreclosure of competition.

More: http://computerworld.com/s/article/9138079/