Intel's liability for antitrust restrictions remains valid, but the CJEU reduces the fine set by the European Commission to 237 million EUR.
The decision confirms the violation of competition rules, but adjusts the penalty to reflect the limited scope of the anti-competitive practices.
Intel's liability for anti-competitive restrictions remains valid, but the CJEU reduces the fine set by the European Commission to 237 million EUR.
The semiconductor industry is once again at the center of European legal analysis, following the General Court's reduction of the fine imposed on Intel.
Brussels, December 10, 2025 - The General Court of the European Union upheld the European Commission's 2023 decision regarding the anti-competitive restrictions imposed by Intel on computer manufacturers, but reduced the fine from 376.36 million EUR to 237.1 million EUR, according to the ruling published on December 10, 2025. The court confirms that these "naked restrictions" aimed to limit the use of AMD processors by HP, Acer, and Lenovo.
In short
The Intel fine decreases from 376 million EUR to 237.1 million EUR.
The court confirms the existence of "naked restrictions" against AMD.
The adjustment is motivated by the limited number of affected devices and the time gaps between practices.
The decision is part of a litigation that began in 2009 and has been revisited at several stages.
Intel can appeal to the Court of Justice within two months and ten days.
The General Court concluded that Intel violated European competition law by imposing explicit restrictions on computer manufacturers, including HP, Acer, and Lenovo, to limit the use of AMD processors. The judges confirmed that these practices fall into the category of "naked restrictions," a type of behavior that eliminates the possibility of an objective justification and directly targets the restriction of competition in the x86 processor market.
The court noted, however, that the fine set by the European Commission in 2023, of 376.36 million EUR, must be adjusted. It held that a relatively limited number of computers were targeted by the restrictions and that there was a gap of about twelve months between some episodes of anti-competitive behavior. Therefore, the court established a final penalty of 237,105,540 EUR.
The decision is a new episode in a complex litigation that began in 2009 when the Commission initially imposed a fine of 1.06 billion EUR on Intel. In the following years, various components of the case were annulled or sent back for re-examination by European courts, leading the Commission to issue a new decision in 2023 regarding only the facts that remained in force.
The court also confirmed that the European institution had the authority to reassess and sanction these practices without reopening the entire case, as the judges had already confirmed the anti-competitive nature of the respective restrictions.
Intel has the option to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, limited to legal issues, within the legal term of two months and ten days from the communication of the ruling.
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