Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 17, 2026
1 min readLast updated: February 18, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleQualcomm will withdraw a UK lawsuit over smartphone chip royalties, as Which? finds no competition law violations or inflated prices.
LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Qualcomm on Tuesday said a London lawsuit alleging it had abused its dominant position to force Apple and Samsung to pay inflated royalties will be withdrawn.
The British consumers' association called Which? had brought the case on behalf of around 29 million people who bought iPhones or Samsung devices since 2015.
Which? said it had concluded the tribunal would find Qualcomm did not coerce Apple or Samsung to sign any patent licences or chipset agreements, or agree to any licensing terms. Which? also said the tribunal would find Qualcomm's practices "did not infringe competition laws, did not result in inflated royalties, and did not lead to an increase in prices consumers paid for their mobile phones".
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Catarina Demony)
Royalties are payments made to the owner of a property or rights for the use of that property or rights, often calculated as a percentage of revenue generated.
Competition law is a set of regulations that promote competition and prevent monopolistic practices in the market to ensure fair trading and consumer protection.
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