A Delaware jury ruled that Arm violated its Architecture License Agreement with Qualcomm. The court awarded Qualcomm nominal damages of $2, representing $1 for each of the two successful claims.
The jury determined that Arm withheld essential software patches and verification tools required for Qualcomm to validate its custom Oryon CPU cores. Additionally, the court found that Arm intentionally interfered with Qualcomm's business dealings with Meta.
Arm successfully defended against the majority of claims, which primarily concerned pricing structures under a separate Technology License Agreement. The companies remain in a legal dispute over whether the breach allows Qualcomm to cease royalty payments for five years.
The potential financial impact of the royalty dispute is estimated to reach billions of dollars, though Arm contends that such a provision constitutes an unenforceable penalty. Judge Maryellen Noreika has yet to issue a final ruling on this matter.
This verdict follows a prior legal battle where a jury concluded in December 2024 that Qualcomm did not breach its license by acquiring Nuvia. A final judgment in that case was entered in September 2025, and Arm has since filed an appeal.
