In January of this year, the European Commission announced a fine of 997 million euros for Qualcomm. The European Commission stated that Qualcomm had failed to provide Apple with relevant chips by paying Apple to pay extra fees to obtain exclusive supply of chips.
Insiders pointed out that for such cases, judges generally take several years to make a judgment.
In this regard, Wang Yanhui, the secretary general of the Mobile China Alliance, commented that, of course, Qualcomm could appeal, but the appeal failed to pay fines.
Qualcomm 'Bribery' Apple
The episode of Micronet reported that in January 2018, the European Commission announced that it had decided to impose a fine of 997 million euros (approximately 1.229 billion U.S. dollars) on Qualcomm. The European Union stated that Qualcomm abused its market dominance and established an exclusion clause that made Apple Only baseband chips provided by Qualcomm can be used in mobile phones and tablet devices produced between 2011 and 2016.
The European Union’s move aims to punish Qualcomm and prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The European Commission said that the $1.229 billion fine is equivalent to 4.9% of Qualcomm's 2017 revenue.
Margrethe Vestager, EU antitrust commissioner, stated in a statement: 'Qualcomm has forged further competitors by illegally excluding competitors from the LTE baseband chipset market for five years. Its market dominance. Qualcomm paid billions of dollars to its core customer, Apple, to ensure that Apple no longer uses other companies' similar products.
Industry sources said that the EU ruling will provide Apple with legal endorsements because Apple is now suing Qualcomm on a global scale. From Beijing to California, Apple sued Qualcomm for its 'exclusive policies and excessive copyright fees', which has made it possible over the past few years. Apple has spent billions of dollars more.
According to Micronet, the European Commission’s anti-monopoly investigation of Qualcomm began in July 2015. The survey is divided into two parts: A survey is to verify whether Qualcomm provides financial incentives to customers to ensure that customers use Qualcomm. Exclusive baseband chip; Another investigation is to assess whether Qualcomm is involved in 'predatory pricing' and will sell products below cost to force competitors out of the market.
It is reported that the European Commission had previously issued two 'objection statements' to Qualcomm, respectively explicating Qualcomm's existing problems in both aspects.
It is worth mentioning that this case is similar to a 2009 decision of the European Union when the European Union determined that Intel paid kickbacks to computer manufacturers and paid fees to retailers to squeeze out competitors. At present, the Supreme Court of the European Union has ordered subordinates to The court reexamined Intel’s appeal, whether it was the European Union’s mere assumption that this measure was suspected of illegality, but it did not prove that the move had hurt competitors.
Qualcomm faces antitrust investigation in many places
In the past several years, Qualcomm has been investigated and fined in antitrust investigations in four countries or regions in the world. The EU, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Qualcomm have received a total fine of approximately 4 billion U.S. dollars.
In mainland China, on February 10, 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission sentenced Qualcomm to RMB 60.88 billion on the grounds of alleged monopoly. This move was not only a sensation and was also called 'the first case of anti-monopoly'. Qualcomm was under government After penalties, communication patent license fee was reduced, and the cooperation atmosphere with mobile phone manufacturers was improved.
In South Korea, in December 2016, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) determined that Qualcomm had hampered competition in licensing patents and selling smart phone chips, and announced that it would issue rectification orders for certain specific behaviors, involving approximately 1.03 trillion won (approx. 989 million U.S. dollars in administrative fines.
According to Micronet, after receiving a ticket from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Qualcomm appealed directly to the South Korean High Court. After the South Korean court dismissed Qualcomm’s first appeal, Qualcomm again appealed to the court. Biography, Qualcomm's second appeal has been rejected, Qualcomm will eventually pay South Korea 1.03 trillion won in fines.
In Taiwan, China, on the evening of October 11, 2017, Taiwan’s regional anti-monopoly agency Taiwan Fair Trade Commission announced that Qualcomm did not provide important mobile phone baseband chips without signing exclusive deals and wanted to sue Taiwanese manufacturers. It violated the fair market order and violated the fair trade regulations in Taiwan and will impose a fine of NT 23.4 billion (about 778 million U.S. dollars).
On January 25, 2018, Qualcomm finally submitted an installment payment application at the last minute. It will pay 60 fine installments in a six-month period and pay a monthly fine of 5 million yuan. It is worth noting that Qualcomm applied for an installment of fines in addition to the Fair. In addition, at the end of last year, Qualcomm also applied to the Intellectual Property Court to stop execution and filed an administrative lawsuit.
In the European Union, in addition to the aforementioned European Commission fines imposed by Qualcomm for 997 million euros, Qualcomm has also been involved in another EU antitrust agency case. It is reported that the core of the case is whether Qualcomm was in 2009 to 2011. Deliberately selling chipsets at below-cost prices to suppress rival Icera (currently owned by Invertek). At present, the EU’s information from Qualcomm is controversial. If Qualcomm does not provide the EU with the information it needs, it will A fine may be paid on a daily basis.