Overview
- A federal jury in Wilmington found that Arm breached its Architectural License Agreement and interfered with Qualcomm’s business, and it awarded Qualcomm two separate $1 damages.
- The verdict, returned on Wednesday, recognized Qualcomm’s claims that Arm withheld software patches and processor verification materials used to validate custom CPUs.
- Qualcomm says the jury win gives it a path to seek a contract remedy that could let it stop paying Arm royalties for as long as five years, a penalty Arm says is unenforceable.
- Qualcomm also accused Arm of leaking a threat to drop Qualcomm’s license that Qualcomm says reduced a proposed Meta deal by $170 million, an alleged business harm the jury found actionable.
- The case traces to Qualcomm’s 2021 acquisition of Nuvia and is likely to continue with judge-level hearings before U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika and further appeals that will determine any large financial effects and industry fallout.