Qualcomm wins lawsuit against Arm but will only receive two bucks

Arm accuses Qualcomm of filing the lawsuit to get out of paying ‘billions of dollars’ in royalties

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Both Arm and Qualcomm have published statements, saying that they were pleased with the findings of a Delaware jury in a breach of licensing lawsuit. That's because while the jury found that Arm breached its Architectural License Agreement with Qualcomm and acted to disrupt its business, it also only awarded the latter company a total of $2 in damages. Yes, just $2 — that figure isn't missing 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 had argued at the time that Qualcomm didn't obtain the necessary permits to transfer Nuvia's licenses, constituting a breach of contract. Last year, Qualcomm announced that the court had granted it "complete victory" after it dismissed Arm's remaining claims. 

According to Thurrott, due to the information that emerged during that case's discovery and the things Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas' said on the stand, Qualcomm sued Arm. Reuters says that after a five-day trial, the jury found that Arm had breached their agreements by withholding software patches and tools for its designs. It also found that Arm intentionally interfered with Qualcomm's business deal with Meta. Qualcomm alleged that in 2024, Arm had leaked to Bloomberg News that it had breached a licensing agreement when it was on the verge of closing a deal with Meta, leading to a delay. The jury sided with Arm in four of Qualcomm's other claims.

In its statement, Arm said the lawsuit was an attempt by Qualcomm to get out of paying it "billions of dollars" under the companies' existing licensing agreements. 

"We are pleased with the jury' decision today finding for Arm on four claims and awarding only one dollar in damages on 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 license agreements, the jury's verdict confirms that Arm operated in good faith under its technology license agreement and its award of only two dollars confirms the merit of Arm's arguments in the case."

Meanwhile, Qualcomm said it was "gratified that the jury found Arm breached its long-standing Architectural License Agreement (ALA) with Qualcomm, failed to honor its commitments, and intentionally acted to disrupt Qualcomm's businesses." It added: "Together with Qualcomm's prior court victory, this outcome further exposes Arm's broader intentions to harm Qualcomm and its ecosystem."

Their court battle, however, is far from over. US District Judge ​Maryellen Noreika is still expected to resolve several more disputes between the companies. If Noreika ultimately sides with Qualcomm, the company could stop paying Arm royalties for five years, which as Arm said was worth billions of dollars. Arm argued that the penalty, as indicated in the companies' licensing contract, isn't enforceable.