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Approximately thirty million people in the Britain who bought an Apple or Samsung mobile phone from the year 2015 and 2024 could be entitled to approximately 17 pounds per claimant should a customer watchdog is successful in its case against the American corporation Qualcomm.

Legal Action Starts Today

The advocacy organization is escalating the technology corporation to the CAT in London this week.

The trial involving the consumer group and the chipmaker is projected to run for five weeks.

The body is accusing the tech firm of anti-competitive practices.

The allegation is that the firm pressured Apple & Samsung Electronics to pay excessive costs and patent charges for critical mobile hardware, which then pushed up the price of those smartphones for consumers.

Key Points the Trial Will Examine

The legal proceedings beginning on Monday will examine whether the chipmaker possessed control and, should that be the case, whether it abused a powerful stance.

If the advocacy organization is successful, there will be a follow-up phase seeking £480 million from Qualcomm, to be divided between an approximate 29 million British consumers involved.

The organization is claiming compensation for all impacted Apple Inc. & Samsung smartphones bought between the start of October 2015 and 9 January 2024.

The group estimates this would likely work out at approximately 17 pounds per individual.

Previous Allegations and Qualcomm's Position

The chipmaker has previously stated the claim has "no basis".

A similar legal action against Qualcomm is in progress in the Canadian courts, and the company has also in the past been fined by the European Union for anti-competitive breaches.

The Federal Trade Commission in the US filed a case against the company for restrictive tactics in the way it authorized use of its innovations during the year 2017, but had its claim thrown out in the year 2020.

Significance of the Legal Action

The CEO of the organization remarked: "This legal action is a significant event. It demonstrates how the collective strength of consumers - backed by our organization - can be used to require the largest corporations to be accountable should they abuse their market power."

The firm is one of the largest global manufacturers of smartphone chips and has been subject to allegations about restrictive conduct previously.

• Affected smartphones include Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics models acquired between the end of 2015 and 2024.
• The total payout requested is 480 million pounds.
• Each payout is estimated to be around 17 pounds.
• The trial is being held at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London.