US chipmaker Qualcomm on Wednesday won its fight against a EUR-997-million (roughly Rs. 8,170 crore) fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators four years ago for paying Apple to use only its chips and blocking out rivals such as Intel.

The European Commission in its 2018 decision said the anti-competitive practice took place from 2011 to 2016, with Qualcomm paying billions of dollars to Apple to use its chips in all its iPhone handsets and iPad tablets.

The General Court, Europe’s second-highest, annulled the EU finding, dealing EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager a major blow.

“A number of procedural irregularities affected Qualcomm’s rights of defence and invalidate the Commission’s analysis of the conduct alleged against Qualcomm,” judges said.

The EU competition enforcer can appeal on matters of law to the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), Europe’s highest.

The case is T-235/18.

© Thomson Reuters 2022