The essential Gorilla Glass is in the sights of the European Union
The case begins at the beginning of November 2024, with the European Commission indicating that it has opened an investigation into the subject of anti-competitive practices by Corning, the company offering Gorilla Glass, which is widely used to protect the screens of smartphones, tablets and others. smart displays. She “concerned that Corning was distorting competition in the alkaline AS glass market by entering into anti-competitive exclusive supply agreements with mobile phone manufacturers”. In a press release published on November 25, the Commission indicated that it had received a series of commitments from Corning, which did not skimp on promises to reassure the European authorities.
Promises for the next nine years
The firm is proposing several areas for improvement that it intends to apply for nine years, but there is no indication of actual implementation. The European Commission “invites interested parties to submit their comments” about them (manufacturers of screens and connected devices), which therefore means that these promises are expected to evolve; they must be validated within the next six weeks by those mainly concerned. If validated, these promises will become “legally binding commitments for Corning”and would lead to fines of up to 10% of the company's global turnover in the event of a breach. In 2023, it should be remembered that the firm had earned some 13.6 billion dollars…
In the meantime, Corning offers to “waive all exclusive supply clauses“, even already concluded; we think, for example, of brands such as Motorola, which have concluded a partnership with Corning at the start of the year for all of its smartphones. The company assures that it will no longer force its partners, on the screen and smartphone side, to equip at least 50% of their production with its technologies so that they benefit from price discounts, but also to only pursue legal action against third parties. 'due to the “patent infringement, not contract violation”. Enough to simplify the lives of manufacturers developing their proprietary technologies…
