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Approximately 30 million individuals in the Britain who bought an Apple Inc. or Samsung Electronics smartphone from the year 2015 and 2024 could be entitled to about 17 pounds per person should a buyer campaign group is successful in its lawsuit against the American tech giant Qualcomm Inc..

Legal Action Starts On Monday

The campaign is bringing the tech giant to the specialized court in the UK capital now.

The trial involving the consumer group and Qualcomm is projected to run for over a month.

The group is alleging the semiconductor firm of anti-competitive practices.

The group asserts that the firm forced Apple & Samsung to pay high fees and royalty payments for critical handset components, which then raised the price of those devices for consumers.

Key Points the Case Will Determine

The case starting on Monday will examine whether Qualcomm held market power and, if so, whether it abused a powerful stance.

Should the consumer group is successful, there will be a second stage aiming to obtain 480 million pounds from Qualcomm, to be allocated to an projected 29 million British consumers affected.

The consumer group is claiming compensation for all affected Apple Inc. & Samsung Electronics handsets bought between the start of October 2015 and 9 January 2024.

The watchdog says this would almost certainly amount at about 17 pounds each.

Previous Legal Challenges and The Firm's Position

Qualcomm has previously said the claim has "no foundation".

A parallel claim against Qualcomm is ongoing in Canada, and the company has also earlier been sanctioned by the European Union for anti-competition violations.

The US regulator in the US sued the firm for restrictive tactics in the way it licensed its innovations during 2017, but had its legal action dismissed in 2020.

Importance of the Trial

The head of the organization remarked: "This trial is a huge moment. It shows how the power of the public - supported by the group - can be used to make the biggest companies to account when they misuse their leading role."

The chipmaker is one of the largest global manufacturers of handset semiconductors and has encountered allegations about anti-competitive behaviour previously.

• Eligible smartphones include Apple and Samsung phones acquired between the end of 2015 and January 2024.
• The overall compensation demanded is £480m.
• Per-person payout is estimated to be around seventeen pounds.
• The legal action is being held at the specialist court in London.