Qualcomm wins the appeal against the EU and avoids a big fine

Qualcomm sign near Qualcomm Research Silicon Valley office of San Diego based chip and semiconductor company – Santa Clara, California, USA – 2019

Qualcomm beats the European antitrust and will not have to pay the fine of 997 million euros sanctioned by the body in 2018. This fine was linked to a alleged agreement between Qualcomm and Apple with Qualcomm allegedly paying Apple several billion dollars to become the exclusive supplier of LTE modules for its devices. Here are the details on the case:

Qualcomm will not have to pay the fine imposed by the EU

The sentence relating to the fine to Qualcomm dates back, as mentioned, to 2018. The American company filed an appeal and today managed to overturn the judgment of the European antitrust. According to the EU Court, there are a number of cases at the basis of the case procedural irregularities which would have prevented Qualcomm from adequately defending itself to avoid the multi-million dollar fine.

It should also be noted that, according to the Court, the European Antitrust Commission would not have been able to provide sufficient evidence to highlight Qualcomm’s guilt. Furthermore, according to the judges, Apple had no concrete alternatives to Qualcomm’s proposals at the time for the LTE modules of its devices.

New appeal coming?

The ball now passes to the EU antitrust which has the right to appeal to the EU Court of Justice. A possible appeal by the institution will result in a further extension of the case which, therefore, after four years, could still be very far from its conclusion. More details on what will be the next steps of the antitrust will arrive over the next few months.