Apple & Samsung Electronics Owners Could Be Due for a Portion of a £480 million Payout in the UK
Close to 30 million individuals in the UK who purchased an Apple or Samsung Electronics handset from the year 2015 and the year 2024 may be able to around £17 each in the event that a consumer campaign group is successful in its legal action against the US corporation Qualcomm Inc..
Legal Action Begins This Week
The consumer group is taking the technology corporation to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London this week.
The case between the watchdog and the chipmaker is anticipated to last five weeks.
The group is alleging the chip company of anti-competitive practices.
The allegation is that the firm compelled Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics to pay inflated prices and patent charges for necessary phone parts, which then pushed up the cost of those smartphones for consumers.
Key Points the Case Will Decide
The trial commencing on Monday will focus on whether Qualcomm possessed market power and, if so, whether it exploited a leading role.
Should the consumer group is successful, there will be a subsequent step seeking £480m from the tech firm, to be distributed among an projected twenty-nine million British phone owners impacted.
The organization is pursuing restitution for all impacted Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics mobile phones bought between October 1, 2015 and 9 January 2024.
The watchdog says this would almost certainly calculate at about 17 pounds per person.
Past Allegations and The Firm's Position
Qualcomm has in the past said the case has "no foundation".
A parallel case against Qualcomm is ongoing in Canada, and the corporation has also earlier been fined by the European Union for anti-competition breaches.
The FTC in the US filed a case against the company for anti-competitive behavior in the way it authorized use of its technology back in 2017, but had its case thrown out in the year 2020.
Significance of the Legal Action
The head of the watchdog stated: "This legal action is a significant event. It shows how the power of buyers - supported by our organization - can be used to require the largest corporations to account if they exploit their market power."
The chipmaker is one of the world's biggest producers of smartphone chips and has faced claims about unfair practices previously.
- Affected devices include Apple & Samsung products purchased between the end of 2015 and the start of 2024.
- The total payout requested is £480 million.
- Individual compensation is projected to be about £17.
- The trial is taking place at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London.
