Infineon, Philips lose appeal against chip cartel fines

Nieuws Mobiel Europa 15 DEC 2016
Infineon, Philips lose appeal against chip cartel fines

Philips and Infineon have lost a court appeal against fines imposed by the European Commission for cartel-forming in the smart card chip market. The two were fined respectively EUR 20.1 million and EUR 82.8 million in 2014 for participation in a cartel in the period 2003-05 with Renesas and Samsung. Renesas escaped a fine after reporting the offences to the Commission, and Samsung obtained a reduction for helping the EC's investigation. 

Philips and Infineon contested the claims of the cartel and the amounts of the fines. The General Court of the EU rejected their arguments, saying the price-fixing practices were an anticompetitive offence in themselves and the EC did not need to examine also the effects of the cartel agreement. The two companies also tried to cast doubt on Samsung's contribution to the investigation, but this was also rejected. Furthermore, the court said it could not adjust the fines as the companies provided no argument for different amounts. 

Categories:

Mobiel

Companies:

European Commission,  Philips,  Samsung,  Infineon,  Renesas

Regions:

Europa

Tags:

Components, Wholesale, Legislation - Lawsuits

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