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Close to 30 million consumers in the United Kingdom who purchased an Apple and/or Samsung handset between 2015 and the year 2024 may be entitled to about 17 pounds per person should a buyer watchdog prevails in its lawsuit against the American tech giant Qualcomm.

Trial Begins Today

The advocacy organization is escalating the technology corporation to the specialized court in the UK capital now.

The trial between the advocacy organization and Qualcomm is anticipated to run for five weeks.

The group is accusing the tech firm of anti-competitive practices.

The allegation is that the company pressured Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics to pay high fees and patent charges for critical phone parts, which then increased the price of those mobile phones for consumers.

The Details the Legal Action Will Decide

The trial commencing this week will examine whether the chipmaker held dominance and, should that be the case, whether it misused a leading role.

If the watchdog is successful in its claim, there will be a follow-up phase aiming to obtain £480m from Qualcomm, to be distributed among an estimated twenty-nine million British smartphone users impacted.

The body is seeking damages for all impacted Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics mobile phones acquired between 1 October 2015 and early January 2024.

The organization says this would likely amount at approximately £17 per individual.

Previous Cases and The Firm's Response

Qualcomm has earlier claimed the legal action has "no basis".

A comparable legal action against the tech giant is in progress in Canada, and the corporation has also previously been sanctioned by the European Union for anti-competition violations.

The FTC in the US filed a case against the corporation for unfair practices in the way it licensed its innovations during the year 2017, but had its claim rejected in 2020.

Significance of the Case

The chief executive of the watchdog commented: "This legal action is a huge moment. It shows how the collective strength of buyers - backed by the group - can be used to hold the biggest companies to be accountable should they exploit their leading role."

The firm is one of the largest global manufacturers of smartphone chips and has encountered accusations about anti-competitive behaviour before.

• Affected handsets include Apple & Samsung Electronics products purchased between October 2015 and January 2024.
• The overall compensation being sought is 480 million pounds.
• Per-person compensation is expected to be around 17 pounds.
• The case is taking place at the specialist court in the UK capital.