Link: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2022-06/cp220099en.pdf

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PRESS RELEASE No 99/22

Luxembourg, 15 June 2022

Judgment of the General Court in Case T-235/18 | Qualcomm v Commission (Qualcomm - Exclusivity Payments)

Abuse of dominance on the LTE chipsets market: the General Court annuls the Commission decision imposing on Qualcomm a fine of approximately €1 billion

The General Court observes that a number of procedural irregularities affected Qualcomm’s rights of defence and invalidate the Commission’s analysis of the conduct alleged against Qualcomm

Qualcomm is a US company which develops and supplies baseband chipsets intended for use in smartphones and tablets to enable them to connect to cellular networks1 and are used both for voice services and data transmission. Chipsets are therefore sold to original equipment manufacturers, including Apple, who incorporate them into their devices.

By decision of 24 January 2018 2 , the Commission imposed on Qualcomm a fine of close to €1 billion for abuse of dominance on the worldwide market for chipsets compatible with the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. The infringement lasted from February 2011 to September 2016. 

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