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Approximately 30 million individuals in the Britain who purchased an Apple Inc. and/or Samsung handset from the year 2015 and the year 2024 might be eligible to approximately seventeen pounds per person in the event that a buyer advocacy organization wins in its lawsuit against the American technology firm Qualcomm Inc..

Court Case Begins On Monday

The advocacy organization is taking the firm to the CAT in the UK capital starting Monday.

The trial involving the advocacy organization and the chipmaker is projected to run for around 35 days.

The body is accusing the semiconductor firm of unfair competition.

It claims that the corporation forced Apple & Samsung to pay inflated prices and patent charges for critical phone parts, which then pushed up the cost of those mobile phones for users.

Key Points the Case Will Examine

The legal proceedings commencing this week will focus on whether the chipmaker held control and, if so, whether it misused a dominant position.

Should the advocacy organization is victorious, there will be a second stage aiming to obtain £480 million from Qualcomm, to be divided between an approximate twenty-nine million UK smartphone users affected.

The consumer group is seeking damages for all affected Apple and Samsung mobile phones purchased between October 1, 2015 and January 9, 2024.

The group says this would likely amount at approximately £17 per person.

Earlier Allegations and The Firm's Statement

Qualcomm has earlier stated the case has "no foundation".

A comparable legal action against the tech giant is ongoing in the Canadian courts, and the corporation has also earlier been penalized by the European Union for anti-competitive practices.

The FTC in the US took legal action against the corporation for restrictive tactics in the way it licensed its technology back in the year 2017, but had its legal action rejected in the year 2020.

Impact of the Trial

The chief executive of the consumer group commented: "This trial is a huge moment. It demonstrates how the power of buyers - represented by our organization - can be used to require the major firms to be accountable should they abuse their market power."

Qualcomm is one of the world's biggest suppliers of smartphone chips and has been subject to allegations about anti-competitive behaviour before.

• Eligible devices include Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics phones acquired between October 2015 and 2024.
• The claimed amount requested is £480m.
• Per-person payout is estimated to be around £17.
• The legal action is taking place at the specialist court in the UK capital.