Chipmaker Qualcomm does not have to pay 1 billion euros

The American chipmaker Qualcomm does not have to pay a fine of 1 billion euros. The company was fined by the European Commission in 2018, but the European Court of Justice overturned it on Wednesday.

Between 2011 and 2016, according to the European Commission, Qualcomm entered into unfair deals with the technology group Apple over the exclusive use of its chips in Apple’s iPhones and iPads.

European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager (Competition) says that Qualcomm has therefore been pushing competitors out of the market for certain chipsets for more than five years. For that reason, he imposed a fine of 997 million euros. He can still appeal the court’s decision.

According to the General Court, which is part of the Luxembourg Court, the Commission’s analysis is incorrect. The chipmaker was also unable to defend itself well due to a series of “procedural irregularities”.

Qualcomm is by far the largest maker of the chips needed to connect smartphones and tablets to 4G networks. Between 2011 and 2016, the company had a market share of more than 90%.

Source: NU

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