Apple Inc. & Samsung Owners Could Be Due for a Piece of a £480 million Compensation in the UK
Approximately 30 million consumers in the Britain who purchased an Apple and/or Samsung handset between the year 2015 and the year 2024 may be able to approximately £17 per person in the event that a buyer advocacy organization is successful in its case against the American technology firm Qualcomm.
Legal Action Starts Today
The campaign is taking the tech giant to the CAT in London this week.
The trial involving the consumer group and Qualcomm is projected to continue for five weeks.
The organization is accusing the chip company of restrictive behavior.
The allegation is that the company pressured Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics to pay inflated prices and patent charges for critical mobile hardware, which then increased the price of those devices for buyers.
Key Points the Legal Action Will Determine
The case commencing on Monday will focus on whether Qualcomm held control and, if so, whether it exploited a leading role.
Should the watchdog is successful, there will be a follow-up phase requesting £480 million from Qualcomm, to be divided between an estimated 29 million British phone owners involved.
The consumer group is claiming compensation for all affected Apple & Samsung mobile phones purchased between 1 October 2015 and early January 2024.
The organization says this would almost certainly work out at approximately seventeen pounds each.
Previous Legal Challenges and The Firm's Statement
The company has previously claimed the claim has "no foundation".
A comparable legal action against the tech giant is ongoing in the Canadian courts, and the company has also earlier been fined by the EU for anti-competitive practices.
The Federal Trade Commission 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 thrown out in the year 2020.
Impact of the Legal Action
The CEO of the watchdog remarked: "This legal action is a huge moment. It shows how the influence of consumers - supported by us - can be used to make the biggest companies to be accountable should they abuse their leading role."
The chipmaker is one of the largest global suppliers of handset semiconductors and has been subject to claims about restrictive conduct previously.
- Qualifying handsets include Apple & Samsung phones bought between 2015 and January 2024.
- The total payout requested is £480 million.
- Each compensation is projected to be approximately 17 pounds.
- The case is proceeding at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London.
