🔗 Share this article

Approximately 30 million consumers in the UK who purchased an Apple Inc. or Samsung mobile phone from the year 2015 to 2024 may be entitled to about 17 pounds per claimant should a consumer watchdog prevails in its legal action against the US corporation Qualcomm.

Court Case Commences On Monday

The consumer group is escalating the tech giant to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK capital now.

The trial involving the advocacy organization and the chipmaker is anticipated to continue for over a month.

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

The allegation is that the firm forced Apple & Samsung to pay excessive costs and royalty payments for essential handset components, which then pushed up the expense of those smartphones for consumers.

The Details the Trial Will Examine

The trial starting now will examine whether the chipmaker had market power and, if so, whether it misused a powerful stance.

Should the watchdog is successful, there will be a follow-up phase requesting 480 million pounds from the tech firm, to be allocated to an projected 29 million British smartphone users impacted.

The organization is claiming compensation for all impacted Apple Inc. and Samsung smartphones acquired between the start of October 2015 and early January 2024.

The watchdog estimates this would likely calculate at approximately 17 pounds per individual.

Past Legal Challenges and The Firm's Response

The company has in the past claimed the case has "no basis".

A similar claim against the tech giant is in progress in the Canadian courts, and the firm has also earlier been fined by the European Union for anti-competitive violations.

The Federal Trade Commission in the US filed a case against the corporation for anti-competitive behavior in the way it sold rights to its technology back in the year 2017, but had its claim dismissed in 2020.

Importance of the Legal Action

The CEO of the organization remarked: "This legal action is a major milestone. It illustrates how the influence of buyers - represented by our organization - can be used to hold the largest corporations to be accountable should they exploit their leading role."

Qualcomm is one of the leading suppliers of handset semiconductors and has been subject to claims about restrictive conduct before.

• Eligible handsets include Apple Inc. & Samsung phones purchased between the end of 2015 and 2024.
• The total payout requested is 480 million pounds.
• Per-person payment is expected to be about 17 pounds.
• The legal action is proceeding at the specialist court in the UK capital.