If you’ve ever seen the Seinfeld episode called “The Implant” (February 5, 1993), you saw George Costanza commit the faux-pas of double-dipping his chip in the dip at a gathering. However, it turns out you may be able to get away with double-dipping in the electronics industry.
Chipmaker Qualcomm in 2021 was accused of double-dipping when it came to selling its modem chips to Apple and Samsung. Now that legal battle has come to an end after five years of litigation in UK courts.
British consumer group Which? sued Qualcomm on behalf of Apple and Samsung customers that purchased smartphones from the two well-known phone makers. Both companies purchased the modems used in their smartphones from Qualcomm. Both firms paid Qualcomm for the modem chips, while also being forced to pay a licensing fee for using the technology included in the chips. Allowing Qualcomm to “double-sip” on modem sales.
Which? sought damages of more than $650 million for 29 million customers in the UK to atone for what the group called artificially inflated prices on iPhone modem.
The lawsuit additionally accused Qualcomm of forcing companies to pay whether or not the chips were used in the devices in question.
“Which?” claimed Qualcomm had illegally increased its prices for 4G modems by “double-dipping, increasing the costs for Apple and Samsung, who would then pass the increases on to buyers of Apple iPhones and Samsung phones. The group sought 30 GBP ($42) in damages for every customer.
Qualcomm’s lawyers fired back that the lawsuit was baseless, and mischaracterized its requirement that manufacturers also obtain a licence for its standard essential patents in addition to buying the physical chipsets.
The parties in the lawsuit have been waiting on a ruling by the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal.
However, in a statement shared by Reuters, Which? has announced that it is withdrawing its lawsuit, saying it had reached an agreement with Qualcomm.
The details of the agreement have yet to have been made public, although we do know that Qualcomm will not be making any pay out to the claimant class. So, you’ll have to find the money from somewhere else for that big dinner at Golden Corral.
