Public harm in Intel case hard to determine

In slapping Intel with a $1.45 billion fine, European regulators this week said the Santa Clara company had harmed millions of consumers by limiting the use of its chief competitor's chips in computers and other gadgets. But assessing precisely how much the average person's pocketbook was affected — if at all — is not easy and is sure to be a key point of contention when Intel appeals the European case and girds itself for battle in the United States, where it faces similar allegations. Public harm tends to be one of the most hotly debated topics in antitrust cases. It also can be enormously complicated, some legal experts say. "It's incredibly hard" to make such calculations, said Robert Lande, a University of Baltimore law professor and cofounder of the American Antitrust Institute. Intel "has transactions all over the world, and trying to put a price on that ... oh man. It's a nightmare."