A Delaware jury found that Arm breached its licensing agreement with Qualcomm, then awarded just $1 on each of Qualcomm's two winning claims. The verdict came on October 13, and each company is calling it a win.
Why it matters
The jury's $2 settles little. What Qualcomm pays Arm for the chip designs behind its processors, and the terms for Arm's next version of that technology, are both still before the judge, and the report says the losing side would likely appeal. Until then, both companies can point to the verdict.
What the jury decided
Qualcomm's statement says the jury found Arm breached the Architectural License Agreement, "failed to honor its commitments" and acted intentionally to disrupt Qualcomm's businesses. Reuters reported that the breach was Arm's failure to provide software patches and tools for its designs, and that the jury also found Arm interfered with Qualcomm's relations with Meta.
The report says Arm won on the other breach claims.
What Arm says
Arm's statement says the verdict "confirms that Arm operated in good faith" and that the $2 total "confirms the merit of Arm's arguments." It also says Qualcomm brought the case to "deprive Arm of billions of dollars" under their license agreements.
What the judge still has to decide
The damages are nominal, but the case is not over. The report says the breach finding leaves open the possibility that Judge Maryellen Noreika rules Qualcomm can stop paying Arm royalties for five years, potentially worth billions. Arm argues that clause is an unenforceable penalty.
The judge must also resolve a dispute over Arm's next version of its technology. That report says the losing side in those rulings would likely appeal.
This was the second trial between the two companies in two years, the report says. For related chip news, see our reports on the Snapdragon overheating denial and Google's Snapdragon Googlebook boards.
