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Nearly 30 million people in the Britain who bought an Apple Inc. and/or Samsung smartphone between 2015 to 2024 may be entitled to around 17 pounds per person should a customer advocacy organization is successful in its legal action against the US technology firm Qualcomm Inc..

Trial Begins This Week

The campaign is taking the technology corporation to the specialized court in London this week.

The legal proceedings between the consumer group and the chipmaker is projected to run for around 35 days.

The organization is claiming the semiconductor firm of unfair competition.

It claims that the firm pressured Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics to pay high fees and patent charges for essential handset components, which then raised the cost of those mobile phones for users.

What the Trial Will Determine

The legal proceedings commencing on Monday will look into whether the chipmaker had market power and, if so, whether it abused a powerful stance.

If the consumer group is successful in its claim, there will be a follow-up phase requesting £480m from Qualcomm, to be divided between an approximate twenty-nine million UK phone owners affected.

The consumer group is claiming compensation for all affected Apple and Samsung smartphones bought between the start of October 2015 and early January 2024.

The group says this would probably work out at about £17 per person.

Earlier Cases and Qualcomm's Position

Qualcomm has previously claimed the legal action has "little merit".

A parallel claim against Qualcomm is in progress in the Canadian courts, and the company has also in the past been fined by the European Union for antitrust practices.

The US regulator in the United States sued the firm for unfair practices in the way it authorized use of its technology in 2017, but had its legal action rejected in the year 2020.

Significance of the Case

The head of the organization commented: "This trial is a significant event. It demonstrates how the power of buyers - represented by our organization - can be used to hold the biggest companies to account when they exploit their market power."

Qualcomm is one of the largest global producers of mobile processors and has faced accusations about anti-competitive behaviour before.

• Qualifying smartphones include Apple & Samsung Electronics models purchased between 2015 and the start of 2024.
• The total payout demanded is £480 million.
• Each payout is projected to be about 17 pounds.
• The case is being held at the specialist court in the UK capital.