US chip maker Qualcomm has won the legal dispute over a fine of nearly one billion euros imposed by the EU competition authority four years ago. The General Court of the European Union, the second highest authority in Europe, overturned the relevant EU decision on Wednesday and dealt a heavy blow to EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
“A series of procedural irregularities have compromised Qualcomm’s rights of defense and invalidated the Commission’s analysis of Qualcomm’s alleged conduct,” the judges said. The EU competition authorities can still appeal to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The Commission has announced that it will investigate the judgment and possible further steps.
In 2018, the European Commission fined Qualcomm nearly €1 billion for market abuse after it paid US iPhone maker Apple to use only Qualcomm chips and exclude competitors such as Intel. Vestager accused Qualcomm of excluding competitors from the LTE baseband chipset market for more than five years, cementing its market dominance. The judges now complained that the Commission had not provided an analysis to support the finding that the payments in question actually reduced Apple’s incentives to switch to Qualcomm’s competitors.
For Vestager, it is already the second major defeat after the court in January fined chip manufacturer Intel twelve years ago. Vestager’s next test will come on Sept. 14, when the court will rule on Google’s lawsuit against a record €4.34 billion in antitrust fines imposed on the company for illegal practices in the Android mobile operating system.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
