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Close to 30 million individuals in the Britain who acquired an Apple and/or Samsung Electronics mobile phone from 2015 and 2024 might be eligible to approximately 17 pounds per person in the event that a customer watchdog prevails in its legal action against the US tech giant Qualcomm.

Trial Starts This Week

The campaign is taking the firm to the CAT in the UK capital now.

The legal proceedings involving the advocacy organization and the chipmaker is expected to continue for around 35 days.

The group is accusing the tech firm of unfair competition.

It claims that the corporation forced Apple & Samsung to pay inflated prices and patent charges for critical handset components, which then increased the price of those mobile phones for consumers.

The Details the Trial Will Examine

The legal proceedings commencing now will look into whether the chipmaker held market power and, should that be the case, whether it abused a powerful stance.

If the consumer group is victorious, there will be a follow-up phase requesting 480 million pounds from the tech firm, to be distributed among an approximate 29 million British smartphone users impacted.

The body is claiming compensation for all eligible Apple & Samsung handsets bought between the start of October 2015 and January 9, 2024.

The group states this would probably work out at around £17 per person.

Earlier Legal Challenges and Qualcomm's Response

Qualcomm has in the past stated the legal action has "no foundation".

A parallel claim against Qualcomm is currently underway in the Canadian courts, and the corporation has also earlier been fined by the EU for antitrust breaches.

The US regulator in the America filed a case against the firm for unfair practices in the way it authorized use of its patents during the year 2017, but had its legal action rejected in 2020.

Importance of the Legal Action

The chief executive of the watchdog remarked: "This legal action is a huge moment. It illustrates how the collective strength of the public - supported by the group - can be used to hold the biggest companies to account if they abuse their market power."

Qualcomm is one of the largest global suppliers of smartphone chips and has been subject to allegations about restrictive conduct in the past.

• Qualifying devices include Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics products bought between the end of 2015 and January 2024.
• The overall compensation being sought is £480m.
• Individual payout is estimated to be about 17 pounds.
• The case is being held at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London.