The European Commission has today opened formal antitrust proceedings against US chip maker Qualcomm to investigate whether its conduct amounts to an abuse of a dominant position.
Two years ago, Ericsson, Nokia, Texas Instruments, Broadcom, NEC and Panasonic, all of which make mobile phones and/or chipsets, complained to the Commission that Qualcomm’s licensing terms and conditions are not fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND).
If the Commission finds this to be the case, the company may have breached Article 82 of the EC Treaty, which prohibits businesses from abusing a dominant position.
The Commission has made it clear that today’s announcement does not imply that officials have conclusive proof of an infringement.
There is no strict deadline for the Commission to complete its inquiries into anticompetitive conduct.
