Owners of an iPhone in the UK could get some money back if a lawsuit now filed by consumer protection agency Which? be successful. With Which? it is an institution comparable to the German Stiftung Warentest, which occasionally takes legal action to enforce the interests of consumers or to prevent them from being harmed.
In the present case, Which? but not against Apple, even if their lawsuit is based on the buyer of an iPhone. Much more is the action against Qualcomm and calls to mind the long and bitter conflict between Qualcomm and Apple. Not only Apple, half the industry, along with various regulatory authorities around the world, had zeroed in on Qualcomm’s business practice, which was largely seen as unfair and inadmissible.
Compensation for individual users rather low
For a long time, Qualcomm demanded a percentage fee for each device sold that uses Qualcomm patents, instead of relying on flat-rate licensing as usual, and at the same time pushed for financial compensation if no chips were purchased. Apple eventually brought a billion dollar damage claim against Qualcomm from the practice, but before the courts could not agree be achieved. As is well known, a comparison was made at the end of which Qualcomm should have benefited more than Apple, read ours too message at the time.
The background was that Apple and Intel needed 5G modems more and more for its iPhone just couldn’t deliver. Since then, Qualcomm’s profits have been bubbling up again, and Apple has again licensed solutions from the Californian for six years. The lawsuits brought against Qualcomm in many places often continue. Should Which? be successful, around 29 million users of an iPhone in the UK could be entitled to damages, as from the UK Media reports emerges. What would undoubtedly be painful for Qualcomm would have little effect on the individual buyer’s wallet.
An iPhone buyer who bought his device after October 2015 should expect the equivalent of around 34 euros.
