Qualcomm’s victory against antitrust regulators in Europe was confirmed on Friday, when the latter reportedly said they would not appeal the court’s ruling in favor of the chip designer. EU regulators in 2018 accused Qualcomm of paying Apple billions of dollars from 2011 to 2016 to block rivals such as Intel. A European court had earlier criticized the competition watchdog over procedural irregularities, while ruling against a fine of 997 million euros (about Rs 8,000 crore) against Qualcomm.
According to a Reuters report, the European Commission announced on Friday that it would not appeal against the General Court’s decision in June that imposed a fine of 997 million euros (about Rs 8,000 crore) against chip maker Qualcomm. The regulator has reportedly decided to scrap the deal over the difficulty of securing a victory at the European Court of Justice.
A spokesperson confirmed the development to Reuters, saying: “The Commission has carefully studied the decision of the General Court at Qualcomm [exclusivity payments] case and decided not to appeal to the Court of Justice.”
Back in June, the General Court ruled against the EU regulator’s fine on the chipmaker, while criticizing its “procedural irregularities” that, according to the report, affected the chipmaker’s right to defend in court.
The case follows a 2018 ruling in which the European Commission accused Qualcomm of paying Apple billions of dollars from 2011 to 2016 to block rival chipmakers such as Intel and ensure that Cupertino company iPhone and Uses its own chips in iPad models. The General Court ruled against 997 million euros (about Rs 8,000 crore) in June.
