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Close to thirty million individuals in the UK who bought an Apple and/or Samsung Electronics mobile phone from the year 2015 to 2024 might be able to approximately 17 pounds per claimant should a consumer advocacy organization prevails in its lawsuit against the US tech giant Qualcomm.

Trial Commences This Week

The campaign is bringing the tech giant to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK capital this week.

The trial between the consumer group and the chipmaker is anticipated to continue for over a month.

The group is alleging the chip company of restrictive behavior.

It claims that the corporation compelled Apple Inc. and Samsung to pay high fees and patent charges for necessary handset components, which then raised the price of those mobile phones for users.

What the Legal Action Will Decide

The legal proceedings commencing on Monday will focus on whether Qualcomm possessed market power and, if proven, whether it abused a dominant position.

If the watchdog is victorious, there will be a follow-up phase requesting £480m from the tech firm, to be allocated to an estimated 29 million UK smartphone users affected.

The organization is seeking damages for all impacted Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics smartphones bought between 1 October 2015 and January 9, 2024.

The watchdog says this would likely work out at about seventeen pounds each.

Earlier Legal Challenges and The Firm's Statement

The chipmaker has in the past claimed the claim has "no basis".

A parallel case against Qualcomm is currently underway in Canada, and the company has also earlier been penalized by the European Union for anti-competitive violations.

The US regulator in the United States filed a case against the corporation for unfair practices in the way it sold rights to its technology in the year 2017, but had its legal action dismissed in the year 2020.

Importance of the Legal Action

The head of the organization remarked: "This case is a significant event. It demonstrates how the power of consumers - represented by our organization - can be used to require the largest corporations to be accountable should they misuse their market power."

The chipmaker is one of the largest global producers of mobile processors and has faced accusations about restrictive conduct before.

• Affected smartphones include Apple Inc. and Samsung products bought between October 2015 and the start of 2024.
• The claimed amount requested is 480 million pounds.
• Each payment is projected to be approximately £17.
• The legal action is taking place at the CAT in London.