Arm Plans to Sue Qualcomm Over License Right Infringements

The computing architecture company Arm is suing Qualcomm and Nuvia (a firm Qualcomm purchased in 2021), for allegedly violating their rights to use Arm’s CPU designs and architecture. Arm contends that the rights it granted Nuvia prior to its acquisition are invalid given that Nuvia is under new ownership. If Arm prevails in its lawsuit, Qualcomm might be obliged to delete whatever work it has done with the licenses at issue, which would be a significant blow for its plans to develop desktop and server processors based on Nuvia’s technology.

According to Arm’s lawsuit, the company granted Nuvia licenses in 2019 to utilize its “off-the-shelf” processor designs and to create its own designs utilizing Arm’s architecture. Arm also provided “substantial, critical, and customized support” for the startup’s efforts to produce server-grade CPUs. Arm generates revenue from licensing fees and royalties from the sale of goods using its technology, such as Nvidia’s computer devices with Arm chips and Apple’s MacBooks and iPhones with Apple Silicon. Engineers who previously worked on the A-series semiconductors utilized in iPhones and iPads established Nuvia.

Arm Plans to Sue Qualcomm Over License Right Infringements

Qualcomm has been vocal about its objectives and the role Nuvia’s purchase plays in achieving them. In January of this year, its CEO, Cristiano Amon, while talking to a source said, “As soon as I became CEO, I acquired a business called Nuvia because we wanted the greatest CPU team on the market.” He stated, “You should anticipate Qualcomm to strive for performance leadership.” We will have to carry it out. Our first product would be sampled the following year. It will be commercialized in 2023. We’ve made this information public, and others will be able to measure it.”

Apparently, the troubles began when Qualcomm acquired Nuvia for $1.4 billion. According to the complaint, Arm informed Qualcomm that it could not utilize Nuvia’s licensing without Arm’s permission after Qualcomm stated that it intended to employ the startup’s technology in many devices. Arm’s attorneys allege the company spent “more than a year” attempting to negotiate a licensing deal for Qualcomm’s usage of Nuvia’s patents.

Arm asserts that it terminated the rights in February 2022, notifying Qualcomm that it could no longer utilise any designs created with the licenses. However, the business fears that Qualcomm has continued to create chips using the licenses and plans to sell them.

Qualcomm’s general counsel Ann Chaplin stated in a statement said

Arm has no authority, contractual or otherwise, to seek to interfere with Qualcomm’s or NUVIA’s inventions. Arm’s case disregards the fact that Qualcomm has extensive, well-established licensing rights covering its custom-designed CPUs, and we are sure that these rights will be upheld.

Well, we will have to wait and see who is really at fault here.

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