your exclusive agreements in the spotlight

The name Corning probably doesn’t sound too familiar to you, but it’s a company that sells its products. Gorilla Glass which we find in devices such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. The activities of this American transnational corporation have aroused the interest of European regulators.

The European Commission wants to know whether Corning “abused its dominant position” in the global market for alkali-alumina glass, which is sold under brands such as Gorilla Glass, among others. To this end, it has launched a formal investigation, which includes several suspicions of possible anti-competitive practices.

Corning under scrutiny by the European Commission

The epicenter of the investigation lies in a number of agreements that could have harm to competition. The Commission points to exclusive agreements with both mobile phone manufacturers (OEMs) and companies that process raw glass (finishers). Let’s look at some details on each of the areas covered in the study.

It is suspected that the agreements with the equipment manufacturers included exclusive purchasing commitments requiring them to source all or substantially all of their glass requirements from Corning. In this case, the manufacturer will not be able to use equivalent solutions from different suppliers in its products.

It is also mentioned that customers can receive a refund if they comply with the obligations exclusive supply. In addition, there are provisions requiring mobile device manufacturers to inform Corning of competing offers. They can only accept them if Corning can’t match them on price.

The Commission believes that the above practices could harm competing companies, but not only that, they also point to increased price increases due to less innovation. Now that the investigation is ongoing, it’s only a matter of time before we learn that Corning has finally violated the block’s competition rules.

It should be noted that no specific date closure of the investigation. The duration of these procedures depends on several factors, such as the complexity of the case and the cooperation of the companies.

Images | Olga Naida | Corning

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