UK tribunal to hear Which? case on Qualcomm market power abuse

A five week trial beginning on 6 October at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London will determine whether Qualcomm abused a dominant position in the patent licensing and chipset markets, a consumer group said, in a case that could lead to payouts for as many as 29 million UK Apple and Samsung smartphone owners. The claim, brought by Which? on behalf of those customers, will test whether Qualcomm held market power and used it to extract inflated licensing fees from manufacturers, costs that Which? says were passed on to consumers between 1 October 2015 and 9 January 2024.

If the tribunal finds in favour of Which? in the first stage, a second trial will follow to examine Qualcomm's conduct in detail and to quantify damages. Which? has estimated total damages at about £480 million and calculated that affected individuals could be due an average of around £17 per phone if the action succeeds. The initial five week hearing will focus on liability rather than the amount of compensation.

Which? alleges Qualcomm breached UK competition law by leveraging dominance in both patent licensing and chip supply to secure terms that allowed it to charge manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung...