The dominant position of Corning in the smartphone cover glass market has brought the company under scrutiny, with the EU launching an investigation into possible practices anticompetitive. The European Commission’s antitrust investigation aims to identify whether Corning exploited its market position to sign exclusive supply agreements with smartphone manufacturers and companies that process raw glass to the detriment of competitors.
According to the press release of the European Commissionthe agreements may have forced smartphone manufacturers to source “all or nearly all” of their protective glass from Corning, offering discounts for compliance and requiring manufacturers to report competitive bids. Corning’s agreements with raw glass processors allegedly included obligations to similar exclusivity and clauses Of no dispute which prevented them from challenging Corning’s patents.
The Commission notes that such contracts could have helped the company to exclude “rival glass manufacturers from large segments of the market, thereby reducing customer choice, raising prices and stifling innovation to the detriment of consumers everywhere“. If the investigation finds that Corning violates EU competition rules, the company could face sanctionsthe. Currently, the Commission has not set a legal deadline for the antitrust investigation.
Source: www.androidiani.com
