The European General Court has overturned a €1 billion antitrust fine imposed on Qualcomm Inc. in the United States for violating antitrust rules as the exclusive supplier of a category of chipsets to Apple Inc, the court revealed in a statement on Wednesday.
The General Court ruled that a number of "procedural irregularities" harmed Qualcomm's rights of defense and rendered the European Commission's "analysis of the alleged conduct" against the chipmaker invalid.
The European Commission imposed an antitrust fine of €997 million against Qualcomm four years ago, citing that the chipmaker paid Apple billions of dollars to prevent the iPhone maker from acquiring chipmakers from competitors.