Jury finds Arm breached Qualcomm license, awards $2 in damages

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

A Delaware jury ruled that Arm breached its architecture license with Qualcomm and interfered with Qualcomm's business relationship with Meta. The award for those two claims: $2 — one dollar each. Both companies called it a win.

The verdict is a sideshow next to what follows. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika must decide whether Arm's breach lets Qualcomm suspend royalty payments for up to five years — a ruling worth hundreds of millions, possibly billions, to Arm. She is also weighing whether Arm negotiated new architecture licensing terms in good faith.

Why it matters

Arm's licensing terms shape costs across nearly every smartphone; a Qualcomm royalty suspension could reshape chip pricing and design freedom industrywide.

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Key Indicators

Nominal damages awarded to Qualcomm

Jury awarded $1 on each of two claims: breach of the architecture license and interference with Meta.

4 of 6

Claims the jury sided with Arm on

Arm prevailed on four claims, including that it did not breach the technology licensing agreement.

5 years

Potential royalty suspension for Qualcomm

If the judge finds a material breach, Qualcomm could stop paying Arm royalties for up to five years.

$32B

SoftBank's 2016 purchase of Arm

The acquisition shifted Arm from pure architecture licensor toward selling its own chips, the root of the dispute.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Cristiano Amon

Chief executive, Qualcomm

Active; testified at trial, declared verdict a win

Rene Haas

Chief executive, Arm Holdings

Active; testified at trial, declared $2 award a vindication

Maryellen Noreika

U.S. District Judge, District of Delaware

Presiding; must rule on royalty suspension and licensing terms

Catherine Nyarady

Lead litigation partner, Paul, Weiss

Led Qualcomm's trial team

Organizations Involved

Arm Holdings

Semiconductor IP company

Defendant; found to have breached architecture license

Designer of the chip architecture used in most smartphones; owned by SoftBank since 2016.

Qualcomm

Semiconductor company

Plaintiff; awarded $2 in nominal damages

San Diego-based chipmaker and Arm's largest architecture licensee, now building its own Arm-based CPU cores.

Meta Platforms

Technology company

Third party; business relationship with Qualcomm found to have been interfered with

Qualcomm customer; Arm was found to have interfered with their relationship.

SoftBank Group Corp.

Conglomerate and investment holding, Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed

Owner of Arm

Japanese investment conglomerate that acquired Arm in 2016 and has pushed it into selling its own chips.

Nuvia

Semiconductor startup

Qualcomm subsidiary since 2021; subject of earlier Arm lawsuit

Server-chip startup acquired by Qualcomm; its Arm license was the hinge of the first Qualcomm-Arm trial.

Timeline

July 2016 October 2026

6 events Latest: 3 days ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
Closing arguments set for bench trial on licensing terms
Upcoming Legal

Judge Noreika will hear closing arguments on whether Arm negotiated future architecture licensing in good faith.
In 4 days
Jury finds Arm breached license, awards $2
Latest Verdict

Jury found Arm breached the architecture license and interfered with Qualcomm's Meta relationship; awarded $1 per claim. Arm won four other claims.
3 days ago
2026
Qualcomm sues Arm for breach of architecture license
Legal

Qualcomm accused Arm of withholding software patches and verification tools and refusing reasonable licensing terms.
2026
December 2024
Jury clears Qualcomm in Nuvia dispute
Legal

Delaware jury rejected most of Arm's claims; Qualcomm won the first round of the licensing war.
December 20th, 2024
August 2022
Arm sues Qualcomm over Nuvia acquisition
Legal

Arm alleged Qualcomm's purchase of server-chip startup Nuvia breached Nuvia's architecture license.
August 31st, 2022
July 2016
SoftBank agrees to buy Arm for $32 billion
Acquisition

The takeover set Arm on a path from licensing architecture to designing its own chips, the root of today's conflict.
July 18th, 2016

Scenarios

Judge lets Qualcomm suspend Arm royalty payments for up to five years

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Tom's Hardware, Reuters

Under the architecture license, a material breach can let Qualcomm stop paying royalties for up to five years. Judge Noreika must rule on that and on whether Arm negotiated new licensing terms in good faith. If she allows the suspension, Arm loses hundreds of millions to billions in revenue and its leverage over Qualcomm's custom cores erodes.

Judge rejects royalty suspension; Qualcomm and Arm head to appeals

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Reuters, Bloomberg Law

Arm argues the $2 award proves its claims lacked merit. If Judge Noreika declines the royalty suspension and finds Arm negotiated in good faith, the fight moves to the Federal Circuit on appeal while both companies return to commercial terms. Either company can appeal an unfavorable ruling.

Qualcomm and Arm settle before the judge rules

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Industry analysts, trade press

Both companies have commercial incentive to end the fight. Qualcomm licenses Arm technology through 2033 and ships millions of Arm-based chips. A settlement could trade license renewals, Nuvia arrangements, and royalty terms for dropped claims, avoiding the uncertainty of the judge's rulings.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

April 2011 - June 2018

Apple v. Samsung smartphone patent wars (2011-2018)

Apple sued Samsung for copying the iPhone's design and interface. A 2012 jury awarded Apple over $1 billion, but appeals cut the damages and sent the case back for retrial on design patents.

Then

The verdict shrank through years of appeals and retrials.

Now

The companies settled in 2018 with terms undisclosed, ending a seven-year global fight over smartphone patents.

Why this matters now

Billions claimed, years of litigation, and a final outcome far from the original headlines — the licensing war's strategic stakes, not the verdict size, drive the endgame.

March 2003 - 2010

SCO Group v. IBM (2003-2010)

SCO claimed IBM misappropriated Unix code and sought billions in damages. SCO's licensing revenue collapsed as the case dragged on, and it filed for bankruptcy in 2007.

Then

SCO lost the core claims and won no major damages.

Now

The case illustrated how claimed damages can dwarf what courts ultimately award, and how litigation can destroy the claimant.

Why this matters now

The gap between what a licensing plaintiff demands and what a jury awards can be enormous — here, Qualcomm's claims for billions against Arm produced $2.

2005 - April 2009

Broadcom v. Qualcomm (2005-2009)

Broadcom sued Qualcomm over cellular patents covering video compression and other features. A jury found infringement and the U.S. International Trade Commission banned some Qualcomm chips.

Then

The companies settled in 2009, with Qualcomm agreeing to pay Broadcom royalties over several years.

Now

Qualcomm fought to preserve its royalty-based licensing model as a defendant in trench warfare over chip patents.

Why this matters now

Qualcomm, once the accused defending its royalty model, now plays the accusing side against Arm's royalty demands — a reversal of roles in the same industry.