Qualcomm wins case against Arm but will only receive two dollars
Arm and Qualcomm released statements saying they were satisfied with the findings of a Delaware jury in a license violation lawsuit. Indeed, even though the jury found that Arm had violated its architectural licensing agreement with Qualcomm and acted to disrupt its business, it also only awarded the latter company a total of $2 in damages. Yes, only $2 – that number is not short of a million or a billion.
The two companies have been embroiled in legal battles for years. In 2022, Arm sued Qualcomm after the latter purchased Nuvia, which also licenses its technologies. Arm then argued that Qualcomm had not obtained the necessary authorizations to transfer Nuvia’s licenses, which constituted a breach of contract. Last year, Qualcomm announced that the court had awarded it a “complete victory” after rejecting Arm’s latest claims.
According to ThurrotDue to the information that emerged during the discovery of this matter and the comments made on the stand by the CEO of Arm Holdings, René Haas, Qualcomm sued Arm. Reuters said that after a five-day trial, the jury concluded that Arm had violated their agreements by refusing to disclose software patches and tools for its designs. Arm was also found to have intentionally interfered with Qualcomm’s business deal with Meta. Qualcomm alleged that in 2024 Arm leaked to Bloomberg News that it had violated a licensing agreement when it was about to enter into a deal with Meta, resulting in a delay. The jury sided with Arm in four other Qualcomm claims.
In his statement, Arm said the lawsuit was an attempt by Qualcomm to avoid paying him “billions of dollars” under the companies’ existing licensing agreements.
“We are pleased with the jury’s decision today that found in favor of Arm on four claims and awarded only $1 in damages for each of Qualcomm’s other two claims,” Arm said. “Despite Qualcomm’s pursuit of this case in an attempt to deprive Arm of billions of dollars under our licensing agreements, the jury’s verdict confirms that Arm operated in good faith under its technology licensing agreement and the award of only two dollars confirms the merits of Arm’s arguments in this case.”
Meanwhile, Qualcomm said it was “pleased that the jury found that Arm violated its long-standing Architectural License Agreement (ALA) with Qualcomm, failed to honor its commitments, and intentionally acted to disrupt Qualcomm’s business.” He added: “Along with Qualcomm’s earlier legal victory, this outcome further exposes Arm’s broader intentions to harm Qualcomm and its ecosystem. »
But their legal battle is far from over. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika is still expected to resolve several other disputes between the companies. If Noreika ultimately sides with Qualcomm, the company could stop paying royalties to Arm for five years, which Arm said was worth billions of dollars. Arm argued that the penalty, as outlined in the companies’ licensing agreement, is not enforceable.
