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Close to 30 million consumers in the United Kingdom who purchased an Apple or Samsung Electronics smartphone between 2015 and the year 2024 might be entitled to about £17 each in the event that a customer watchdog prevails in its lawsuit against the US technology firm Qualcomm Inc..

Trial Begins Today

The campaign is escalating the tech giant to the specialized court in London this week.

The legal proceedings involving the watchdog and the chipmaker is projected to run for around 35 days.

The body is accusing the tech firm of unfair competition.

The group asserts that the corporation compelled Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics to pay excessive costs and royalty payments for necessary mobile hardware, which then increased the cost of those mobile phones for users.

The Details the Legal Action Will Decide

The legal proceedings beginning this week will examine whether Qualcomm had control and, if so, whether it exploited a dominant position.

In the event that the advocacy organization is successful in its claim, there will be a second stage seeking £480m from the tech firm, to be allocated to an approximate 29 million British consumers impacted.

The organization is pursuing restitution for all affected Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics handsets purchased between October 1, 2015 and 9 January 2024.

The watchdog estimates this would almost certainly amount at around 17 pounds per person.

Earlier Legal Challenges and Qualcomm's Position

The chipmaker has previously claimed the claim has "little merit".

A parallel case against Qualcomm is ongoing in the Canadian courts, and the corporation has also previously been sanctioned by the EU for anti-competition breaches.

The FTC in the America sued the firm for restrictive tactics in the way it licensed its patents during 2017, but had its legal action dismissed in 2020.

Significance of the Legal Action

The chief executive of the organization commented: "This legal action is a significant event. It shows how the power of consumers - supported by the group - can be used to make the largest corporations to account if they abuse their dominant position."

The chipmaker is one of the leading producers of smartphone chips and has faced claims about restrictive conduct previously.

• Affected devices include Apple Inc. and Samsung phones purchased between the end of 2015 and 2024.
• The claimed amount requested is 480 million pounds.
• Each payout is projected to be about 17 pounds.
• The trial is proceeding at the specialist court in the UK capital.