Qualcomm and ARM are back in court, and this time Qualcomm is on the offensive. A five-day jury trial kicked off today in federal court in Delaware, according to Reuters, and the stakes could run into the billions of dollars.
Qualcomm accuses ARM of withholding chip-testing tools it was owed under their licensing agreement. It also claims ARM leaked its 2024 threat to cancel Qualcomm’s license to the media, and that the leak damaged talks for a chip deal between Qualcomm and Meta.
The remedy Qualcomm wants is huge. It’s asking to stop paying ARM royalties for up to five years, which could be worth billions. But Judge Maryellen Noreika is still deciding whether to throw out that part of the contract. If she does, Qualcomm could seek only a much smaller amount in damages.
ARM, which is owned by SoftBank, denies breaching the contract. It says any harm to Qualcomm’s chip deals is purely speculative. ARM is also arguing that Qualcomm can’t claim damages over the leak, since Qualcomm allegedly leaked non-public details about antitrust investigations into ARM to reporters.
Why this fight matters for Android phones
This isn’t the first time these two have faced off in court. Back in December 2024, a jury ruled that Qualcomm didn’t breach its license when it acquired Nuvia, the startup behind its custom Oryon CPU cores. ARM had wanted Qualcomm to destroy that technology entirely. ARM has since appealed that verdict, and the case is still ongoing.
Those Oryon cores now power Qualcomm’s biggest chips, including the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and Elite Extreme Gen 6. Those chips will end up in many of next year’s flagships, including the US version of the Galaxy S27 and most likely the Galaxy S27 Ultra. In other words, a big chunk of the best Android phones depend on this relationship staying intact.
There’s also a separate bench trial where Judge Noreika will hear arguments over whether Arm has negotiated in good faith with Qualcomm on the next version of its chip technology. Qualcomm’s agreement with Arm runs through 2033, so neither company is going anywhere.
That’s what makes this so messy. Qualcomm and Arm need each other, even as they keep dragging each other to court. Samsung, meanwhile, is pushing hard to make its Exynos 2700 competitive with Qualcomm. A long legal battle could give Samsung even more reason to bet on its own chips.
The post Qualcomm Is Suing ARM to Stop Paying Royalties for Five Years appeared first on Android Headlines.
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