Qualcomm does not have to pay a billion euro EU fine due to irregularities
The Court of Justice of the European Union has set an end to the fine of almost one billion euros that Qualcomm received in 2018. The Court concludes that there were ‘procedural irregularities’ that prevented the chip designer from properly defending himself.
In 2018, the European Commission imposed a fine of 997 million euros on Qualcomm. The chip designer is said to have made unfair agreements with Apple between 2011 and 2016 about the use of its 4G modem chips. European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, then concluded that Qualcomm had therefore excluded competitors from the market for five years.
According to the General Court, which is part of the European Court of Justice, several procedural irregularities have occurred in the case that have affected Qualcomm’s defense. As a result, the European Commission’s analysis of the chipmaker’s abuse of power is also invalid, the court concludes.
When compiling the file, the Commission failed, among other things, to record the precise content of all interviews, while this is mandatory. According to the court, this mainly concerns ‘meetings and conference calls with third parties’.
Qualcomm challenged the ruling and has now won. The Court also questions the competitive analysis made and notes, among other things, that Apple had no technical alternative to Qualcomm’s 4G modems during the period. According to the ruling, the Commission ‘did not take into account all relevant factual circumstances’. Due to the ruling, Qualcomm does not have to pay the fine of almost one billion euros for the time being. The European Commission can still appeal the ruling.
The case in question, in which a new ruling has now been made, is specifically about 4G modems. Qualcomm was also fined 242 million euros by the EU in 2019 for selling 3G chipsets too cheaply. In 2020, the European Commission also launched an investigation into Qualcomm for abuse of its market position with 5G modem chips. The outcome of that investigation is not yet known.
Apple iPhone 6 from 2014, with 4G modem from Qualcomm