At the beginning of November, the European Commission announced the opening of an antitrust investigation against the American company Corning, a specialist in smartphone lenses, which supplies Gorilla Glass for Android smartphones and Ceramic Shield lenses for the iPhone. The investigation targeted agreements between Corning and smartphone manufacturers, as well as “finishers” (companies that process raw glass), to determine whether the company abused its dominant position through these agreements.
Brussels particularly pointed the finger “exclusive sourcing obligations requiring OEMs (smartphone manufacturers) to source all or substantially all of their alkali aluminosilicate glass requirements from Corning.” The Commission nevertheless offered Corning the opportunity to present commitments to address its concerns.
Corning commits to ending its exclusivity agreements
And in a press release published this week, the European Commission announces Corning’s commitments. According to him, the company renounces the exclusive supply clauses that it has entered into with the smartphone industry and with finishers. For products intended for the European Economic Area, Corning agrees to “not requiring OEMs to purchase or having their supply chain purchase alkaline AS glass from Corning, and not offering OEMs any pricing advantages related to these obligations.”
For products intended for other markets, Corning also commits not to require smartphone manufacturers to “satisfy or ensure that their supply chain meets more than 50% of their demand” with the company.
A heavy fine for non-compliance
At this time, the commitments proposed by Corning are subject to feedback from interested parties, within six weeks. And if these Corning commitments are considered satisfactory, the company will have to respect them for a period of 9 years. And breaches may be punished by a fine of up to 10% of global turnover.
- In early November, the European Commission announced the opening of an investigation into Corning, the company that supplies Gorilla Glass for Android devices and Apple’s Ceramic Shield glass.
- Brussels pointed to agreements between Corning and smartphone manufacturers that would keep out competition
- To address the Commission’s concerns, Corning presented a series of commitments, including the end of its exclusivity agreements with smartphone manufacturers
- These commitments will be subject to industry feedback and if they are considered satisfactory, Corning will have to respect them for 9 years
