Overview

• The Competition Appeal Tribunal in London opens the first-stage hearing on 6 October to decide whether Qualcomm held and abused market power.
• Which? alleges dominance in patent-licensing and chipset markets let Qualcomm charge inflated licence fees that manufacturers passed on to consumers.
• The claim covers Apple and Samsung smartphones bought in the UK between 1 October 2015 and 9 January 2024.
• If liability is established, a separate trial would assess conduct and damages, which Which? estimates at about £480 million, or roughly £17 per phone.
• Qualcomm has not issued a public response, and the opt-out nature of the claim means most eligible consumers are included automatically.