Qualcomm Wins Verdict: Delaware Jury Finds Arm Breached License Deal and Interfered With Its Meta Business, Awards Just $2 in Nominal Damages
WILMINGTON/SAN DIEGO — A federal jury in Delaware has found that chip technology supplier Arm Holdings breached its architectural license agreement with Qualcomm and intentionally sought to disrupt Qualcomm's business, awarding the San Diego-based chipmaker just $2 in nominal damages, Reuters reported on October 13. Nominal damages signify that the jury found a breach occurred but no quantifiable actual loss, hence the symbolic amount. The verdict was announced on Tuesday by a Qualcomm spokesperson. Arm's shares were down more than 1% in afternoon trading after the verdict; Arm did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Qualcomm's case rested on three strands. It accused Arm of withholding software patches and design tools it was owed under contract; of violating an agreement meant to ensure Qualcomm paid within 10% of the lowest price for Arm's processor designs; and of leaking to Bloomberg a 2024 letter notifying Qualcomm it was allegedly in breach of a key license agreement, in a way that damaged Qualcomm's discussions for a chip deal with Meta Platforms. Arm denied breaching the contract, argued that Qualcomm suffered no harm from the conduct alleged, and cast the lawsuit as an attempt to gain leverage in the companies' fight over licensing terms. The five-day trial in federal court in Wilmington was overseen by U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, and both Arm CEO Rene Haas and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon testified.
It was the second jury trial in two years between the companies. Arm sued Qualcomm in 2022 alleging breach of contract, and Qualcomm emerged with a key victory in the 2024 trial. Relations have deteriorated since SoftBank Group took control of Arm in 2016 and Arm shifted from licensing chip-design technology toward selling chips of its own, becoming a competitor to customers such as Qualcomm. Qualcomm's license for Arm's computing architecture runs until 2033. Alongside the jury trial, Judge Noreika also held a related bench trial on whether Arm is negotiating in good faith over terms for the next version of its architecture; a decision on that question could come well after this verdict and will shape whether the two can agree terms for new versions of the architecture.
Source: Compiled from Reuters' October 13 verdict report and its October 5 and October 9 trial reports.
Source: 路透社
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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