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Approximately thirty million individuals in the Britain who bought an Apple or Samsung mobile phone between the year 2015 and the year 2024 may be entitled to around £17 per claimant should a consumer campaign group prevails in its legal action against the US corporation Qualcomm Inc..

Trial Begins Today

The campaign is taking the technology corporation to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in the UK capital now.

The trial between the watchdog and the chipmaker is projected to run for over a month.

The body is accusing the chip company of restrictive behavior.

The group asserts that the company forced Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics to pay inflated prices and royalty payments for essential phone parts, which then increased the cost of those devices for users.

Key Points the Trial Will Decide

The legal proceedings commencing now will look into whether Qualcomm held control and, should that be the case, whether it exploited a powerful stance.

In the event that the advocacy organization is successful in its claim, there will be a follow-up phase seeking 480 million pounds from Qualcomm, to be divided between an projected 29 million British phone owners involved.

The organization is seeking damages for all impacted Apple and Samsung Electronics mobile phones acquired between the start of October 2015 and early January 2024.

The group estimates this would almost certainly amount at around seventeen pounds per person.

Earlier Allegations and The Firm's Position

The company has previously said the claim has "little merit".

A comparable claim against the tech giant is ongoing in Canada, and the company has also earlier been penalized by the European Union for anti-competition violations.

The US regulator in the America filed a case against the company for anti-competitive behavior in the way it sold rights to its patents back in the year 2017, but had its case thrown out in the year 2020.

Significance of the Case

The chief executive of the organization stated: "This legal action is a major milestone. It demonstrates how the power of buyers - backed by our organization - can be used to require the major firms to be accountable when they abuse their market power."

The firm is one of the largest global producers of smartphone chips and has faced allegations about unfair practices in the past.

• Eligible devices include Apple & Samsung phones purchased between October 2015 and January 2024.
• The total payout requested is £480m.
• Individual compensation is estimated to be about £17.
• The case is proceeding at the specialist court in the UK capital.