Qualcomm Loses Legal Battle Over EU Antitrust Fine, Court Slightly Reduces Penalty

Qualcomm’s legal struggle to overturn a substantial antitrust fine imposed by the European Union reached a conclusion on Wednesday, as a top court rejected most of the company’s appeal. According to AP News, the EU’s General Court largely dismissed the tech giant’s attempts to have a 242 million euro ($269 million) penalty, issued in 2019, overturned.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body and top enforcer of antitrust laws, initially imposed the fine after accusing Qualcomm of engaging in “predatory pricing” to maintain its dominance in the market for 3G baseband chipsets. The commission argued that Qualcomm deliberately sold its products below cost in order to force a competitor, the startup Icera, out of the market nearly a decade earlier.

Per AP News, the court’s decision, announced via press release, indicated that Qualcomm’s legal arguments were rejected “in their entirety,” with the exception of one claim. The court agreed with Qualcomm that the European Commission had not adhered to proper guidelines in calculating the fine. As a result, the penalty was slightly reduced to 238.7 million euros, but the court upheld the core finding of anticompetitive behavior.

Related: Qualcomm Reportedly Considering Acquisition of Intel’s PC Design Business

Despite the ruling, Qualcomm expressed disappointment. The company stated, “We respectfully disagree with the judgment and the Commission’s decision and believe that we have always remained in compliance with European competition law,” as reported by AP News.

This case is just one of several legal battles Qualcomm has faced with European regulators. In a separate high-profile decision, the company was fined $1.23 billion for allegedly paying Apple to reduce competition in the mobile chipset market. However, that decision was overturned in 2022 by the same General Court after Qualcomm’s successful appeal.

With the EU continuing to pursue antitrust violations in the tech industry, Qualcomm’s latest defeat underscores the challenges companies face when confronting European regulators on competition issues.

Source: AP News