The longstanding legal tussle between Arm and Qualcomm has intensified. Arm initiated steps to cancel Qualcomm’s architectural license. This allows Qualcomm to leverage Arm’s instruction set architecture for its chip designs, which include popular Snapdragon products. For Qualcomm, this could hinder the production and sale of processors that dominate the Android smartphone market.
The disagreement began two years ago when Arm filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm and its subsidiary, Nuvia. Acquired by Qualcomm in 2021, Nuvia was accused of trademark infringement and violating license agreements. Following this, Arm terminated related licenses, leading to demands for Qualcomm and Nuvia to destroy any developed ARM-based technologies.
This latest development adds another layer to the conflict. A Qualcomm representative expressed to Bloomberg, their confidence that the U.S. chipmaker’s “rights under its agreement with Arm will be affirmed,” accusing Arm of disrupting the legal proceedings. Furthermore, Qualcomm told Reuters, “This is more of the same from Arm—more unfounded threats designed to strong-arm a long-time partner, interfere with our performance-leading CPUs, and increase royalty rates.”
Meanwhile, Arm has chosen to stay mum, refraining from commenting on the issue. Both companies remain steadfast in their stances.
While Qualcomm stands firm in its belief that its agreement rights will be supported, the potential fallout from a canceled license could be substantial. With such a license, Qualcomm leverages Arm’s architecture to produce processors integral to numerous devices. An abrupt end to this arrangement would ripple across the semiconductor sector, particularly affecting Android device manufacturers who rely heavily on Qualcomm’s processors.
