EU General Court Judgment in Case T-671/19 Qualcomm v Commission

18 September 2024

General Court Judgment in Case T-671/19 Qualcomm v Commission (Qualcomm – predatory pricing)

(Competition – Dominant position)

Qualcomm is an American company founded in 1985, active in cellular and wireless technologies. Qualcomm’s chips are sold (and its system software licensed) to companies that use them to equip mobile phones, tablets, laptops, data modules and other electronic consumer goods.

On June 30, 2009, the UK company Icera lodged a complaint with the European Commission against Qualcomm, revised and updated on April 8, 2010, on the basis of which the Commission began its investigation.

In 2012, the intervener, the US company Nvidia, which had acquired Icera in May 2011, provided additional information, incorporating the complaint and making allegations of predatory pricing against Qualcomm.

Between June 2010 and July 2015, the Commission sent several requests for information to Qualcomm, Icera or Nvidia and other players in the baseband chips sector. In the following years, the Commission completed its investigation by sending additional requests for information, issuing statements of objections and holding hearings.

On July 18, 2019, the Commission adopted the contested decision imposing a fine on Qualcomm amounting to €242,042,000 (see summary of Commission Decision of 18 July 2019).

The Commission defined the relevant market as that for stand-alone integrated baseband chips compatible with Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) technology.

It found that Qualcomm held a dominant position on this market worldwide, at least between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011.

It also found that Qualcomm had abused its dominant position by supplying, during that period, certain quantities of some of its UMTS chips to two of its main customers, Huawei and ZTE, at prices below its costs, with the aim of eliminating Icera, its main competitor at the time.

Qualcomm asks the General Court to annul or, in the alternative, substantially reduce the amount of the fine imposed.

Background Documents T-671/19

Mittwoch, 18. September 2024

Urteil des Gerichts in der Rechtssache T‑671/19 Qualcomm / Kommission (Qualcomm – Verdrängungspreis)

Missbrauch marktbeherrschender Stellung bei 3G-Baseband-Chipsätzen

Mit Beschluss vom 18. Juli 2019 verhängte die Kommission gegen den US‑amerikanischen Chiphersteller Qualcomm eine Geldbuße von 242 Mio. Euro wegen Praktizierung von Verdrängungspreisen. Qualcomm habe seine marktbeherrschende Stellung bei 3G-Baseband-Chipsätzen missbraucht, indem es diese Produkte zu nicht kostendeckenden Preisen verkauft habe, um seinen Konkurrenten Icera aus dem Markt zu verdrängen (siehe Pressemitteilung der Kommission IP/19/4350).

Qualcomm hat diesen Beschluss vor dem Gericht der EU angefochten, das heute sein Urteil verkündet.

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