December 7, 2018
Law360 interviewed Washington, D.C., antitrust partner Jonathan Lewis for a story about wireless telecommunications giant Qualcomm’s fight against the recent certification of a class of consumers who allege the company’s licensing practices resulted in their paying higher prices.
The Dec. 6 article said the class could encompass as many as 250 million people representing 1.2 billion phone purchases with potential damages as high as $5 billion. And it’s one among many lawsuits challenging Qualcomm over its domination of the market for the chips that make wireless devices work.
While the class “seems sweeping” in size and in the nationwide application of California law, Lewis said, there’s a chance that the company could narrow the class, if not get certification overturned entirely on appeal.
Regardless of the ultimate outcome, Lewis said the issues involved affect more than just Qualcomm.
“Given that the industry and the products at issue touch everybody — anyone who has a cellphone — it's something we should all be interested in,” Lewis said.