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Close to 30 million people in the Britain who bought an Apple and/or Samsung Electronics mobile phone between the year 2015 and 2024 may be eligible to about £17 each in the event that a consumer advocacy organization is successful in its case against the American technology firm Qualcomm.

Court Case Begins Today

The campaign is taking the firm to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London this week.

The case involving the watchdog and Qualcomm is anticipated to continue for around 35 days.

The body is alleging the semiconductor firm of restrictive behavior.

The group asserts that the corporation compelled Apple Inc. & Samsung to pay inflated prices and licensing fees for necessary mobile hardware, which then raised the expense of those devices for consumers.

Key Points the Trial Will Examine

The case starting on Monday will look into whether Qualcomm had dominance and, if so, whether it exploited a dominant position.

Should the watchdog is successful, there will be a second stage seeking 480 million pounds from the tech firm, to be divided between an projected twenty-nine million British smartphone users affected.

The consumer group is pursuing restitution for all impacted Apple & Samsung Electronics smartphones acquired between October 1, 2015 and 9 January 2024.

The organization says this would almost certainly calculate at about 17 pounds each.

Past Allegations and Qualcomm's Response

Qualcomm has earlier claimed the legal action has "no foundation".

A similar claim against the tech giant is in progress in the Canadian courts, and the firm has also earlier been fined by the EU for anti-competition breaches.

The US regulator in the US took legal action against the firm for restrictive tactics in the way it authorized use of its technology in the year 2017, but had its legal action rejected in the year 2020.

Impact of the Legal Action

The head of the organization stated: "This trial is a significant event. It illustrates how the influence of consumers - supported by us - can be used to hold the major firms to account should they exploit their market power."

Qualcomm is one of the leading producers of smartphone chips and has encountered accusations about anti-competitive behaviour before.

• Eligible handsets include Apple and Samsung models purchased between the end of 2015 and 2024.
• The overall compensation being sought is £480m.
• Individual payment is estimated to be around 17 pounds.
• The trial is proceeding at the specialist court in London.