European Commission fines Qualcomm EUR 997 million for abuse of dominance
The European Commission found that Qualcomm had abused its dominant position on the market for baseband chipsets by offering Apple significant payments if Apple accepted not to purchase chips from its competitors. The Commission noted in its decision that Qualcomm’s behaviour had foreclosed competitors from the market and ordered Qualcomm to pay a fine of EUR 997 million.
The European Commission’s decision of 24 January 2018 – Qualcomm
By student intern Mathias Rønø Bove
In 2011, Qualcomm entered into an agreement with Apple, which was later extended, offering Apple significant amounts for using its chips in iPads and iPhones. In the Commission’s opinion, the agreement prevented Qualcomm’s competitors from competing on the market because a major player like Apple was unable to buy their products.
The alleged foreclosure effect of Qualcomm’s practices was supported by internal Apple documents, showing that Apple had considered switching to Intel chips. According to the Commission’s press release, the exclusivity obligation had affected Apple’s decision not to buy chips from Intel. Under the agreement with Qualcomm, Apple would also incur financial sanctions for breach of the exclusivity obligation.
The level of the fine was almost the same as in 2009 when the Commission fined Intel for offering exclusive discounts to its customers (EUR 1.06 billion) – a decision that was subsequently partly set aside by the courts. Qualcomm now has two months to decide whether to appeal the Commission’s decision to the General Court.
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