After four years in court, a European tribunal has thrown out a $1.04 billion antitrust fine against San Diego's Qualcomm over incentive payments linked to supplying Apple with 4G smartphone chips.
The ruling from the General Court of the European Union in Brussels vacates the fine and requires the European Commission to pay Qualcomm's legal costs. It could end a years-long anti-monopoly battle against Qualcomm by European regulators, which began with an anonymous complaint in 2014.
In January 2018, the head of the European Commission's antitrust arm levied the huge fine. Qualcomm immediately appealed.
