Overview
- The Swedish Patent and Market Court on Wednesday ordered Google to pay about €1.7 billion to Pricerunner for years of giving preferential placement to its own price‑comparison service in search results.
- Judge Linda Kullberg said the award is the largest damages sum ever granted in a Swedish competition case and that the court found Google’s conduct harmed the independent comparison site.
- The court trimmed Pricerunner’s larger claim because parts of the case were time‑barred, noting that Pricerunner had originally sought a much higher sum reported at roughly €7 billion.
- Google said it disagrees with the ruling and will review legal options and potential appeals, while Pricerunner and owner Klarna welcomed the decision as pro‑competitive.
- The case builds on a 2017 EU finding that fined Google for privileging Google Shopping and could affect how courts calculate damages and how independent comparison sites compete and serve consumers.