Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and Snapdragon X Elite chips–and any others it develops with technology it acquired through its 2021 purchase of Nuvia–for now will compete in the PC and smartphone markets without the burden of Qualcomm having to pay additional royalties to Arm.
A federal court trial stemming from an Arm licensing lawsuit against Qualcomm recently ended in a mistrial with the jury’s failure to resolve one of three key questions, according to published reports. This means that for now Nuvia’s technology, including the Oryon CPUs used in the new Snapdragon SoCs, falls under Qualcomm’s own licensing agreement with Arm, and not a separate one that Nuvia had established with Arm prior to Nuvia’s acquisition by Qualcomm. The legal victory could save Qualcomm around $1.4 billion in additional annual royalties it otherwise would have had to pay to Arm, according to a Reuters story.
The result also could have positive implications for Qualcomm as it seeks to become a major player in the AI PC market, challenging chipmakers like Intel and AMD.
“We are pleased with today’s decision,” said Ann Chaplin, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Qualcomm, in a statement shared with Fierce Electronics. “The jury has vindicated Qualcomm’s right to innovate and affirmed that all the Qualcomm products at issue in the case are protected by Qualcomm’s contract with ARM. We will continue to develop performance-leading, world class products that benefit consumers worldwide, with our incredible Oryon ARM-compliant custom CPUs.”
However, due to the mistrial result, Arm might be able to file a new lawsuit over the issue, which many company watchers believe it will do. Prior to the recent court date, Arm had given Qualcomm 60 days notice back in October that it planned to end its licensing agreement with Qualcomm, a move that at the time seemed designed to force an out-of-court settlement. That particular outcome could also still be in the cards. The sometimes bitter legal fight stems from the lawsuit Arim originally filed against Qualcomm in September 2022.