Intel has consistently denied the EU's charges, as well as somewhat similar ones levied by South Korea, Japan, and the United States. That's to be expected. But with prospects on appeal not looking great, the company has challenged the legitimacy of the EU process, likening the commission to a kangaroo court and raising the spectre of human rights violation.

Intel has decided to appeal the $1.45 billion fine leveled against it by the European Union for engaging in anticompetitive behavior, and it is claiming that the proceedings have violated its human right to due process.

The publication of the EC's decision in the case is not possible due to a number of outstanding confidentiality claims by Intel and a number of third parties.

For once, America is running at top speed to catch up with the European Union. In levying a record fine against Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, the EU competition authorities have let it be known that a dominant company's efforts to crush rivals by threatening customers or rigging a price schedule will not be tolerated.

As American regulators slept through the past eight years, several authorities overseas decided that the Intel Corporation has been abusing its near monopoly position in the microchip market to squeeze out its smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices, constraining consumers' choice.

In announcing the record fine Wednesday, the European Commission released only the barest of details about the strong-arm tactics employed by Intel.

This European Commission has concluded its exhaustive investigation, spanning nearly nine-years, resulting in one clear ruling – Intel broke the law. And it is the third straight ruling of its kind.

According to the Korean commission Intel's rebate system was "not a volume discount program but a system where the amount of rebates is reduced or increased according to fulfillment of conditions involving exclusion of competitors, through the determination of ECAP applied items, amount of discounts, and payment of MDF, regardless of partner's purchasing volume".

Intel Corp (INTC.O) could face a hefty fine from EU regulators over charges it fiddled with retail channels to suppress competitors, but of more concern could be any fresh rules imposed by the EU.