French court fines Apple €39M over iPhone sales violations
What's the story
A French court has ordered tech giant Apple to pay around €39 million to mobile network operators over unfair contract conditions related to iPhone sales. The ruling also includes an additional fine of €8 million. The decision stems from a probe into Apple's contracts with France's top mobile network operators more than 10 years ago, which were found to impose unfair contract conditions for selling iPhones.
Contractual disputes
Paris commercial court's ruling
The Paris commercial court took issue with clauses in Apple's contracts that mandated operators to sell a specific number of iPhones and fixed their retail prices. The ruling also highlighted that Apple controlled how its products and trademarks were advertised by the operators. Further, it was found that Apple used the patents of these operators without any compensation or reciprocity.
Legal action
Apple plans to appeal against ruling
In response to the ruling, Apple has announced its intention to appeal. The company said it will contest the decision concerning contracts from over a decade ago. However, despite the appeal, Apple will have to pay the ordered amounts to three of France's four mobile network operators—Bouygues Telecom, Free and SFR—as the appeal doesn't suspend enforcement of this ruling.