A Delaware jury ruled that Arm breached its licensing agreement with Qualcomm and intentionally interfered with its business operations. Despite the verdict, the court awarded Qualcomm a total of $2 in damages, with one dollar allocated for each of the two upheld claims.
The dispute centered on allegations that Arm withheld software patches and development tools, and interfered with a potential deal between Qualcomm and Meta. Qualcomm claimed that in 2024, Arm leaked information to Bloomberg News regarding an alleged license violation, which delayed the contract. Out of six claims, the jury supported two, while ruling in favor of Arm on the remaining four.
The legal conflict began in 2022 after Qualcomm acquired the chip startup Nuvia, which also held an Arm technology license. While Qualcomm previously secured the dismissal of other claims, the case remains ongoing. Federal Judge Maryellen Noreika is set to resolve remaining disputes, which could potentially allow Qualcomm to stop paying royalties to Arm for five years, a value Arm estimates in the billions of dollars.
