What you need to know
- Arm gave Qualcomm a 60-day notice to end its construction license, further escalating a legal battle between the two companies that began in 2022 when Qualcomm acquired Nuvia without renewing its license agreement.
- Qualcomm disputes Arm’s claims, accusing it of trying to obstruct the legal process and insisting its licensing rights remain.
- If the issue is not resolved after 60 days, Qualcomm may stop selling the product or face significant legal repercussions.
The future of Snapdragon chips is up in the air with Arm’s decision to revoke Qualcomm’s license. These chips power some of the leading Android smartphones on the market, and continued conflict between the two companies leaves their production in doubt.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Arm has given Qualcomm a 60-day notice to end its architecture license and cut off Qualcomm’s access to Arm’s chip design IP. This marks a significant escalation in an ongoing feud that began in 2022 after Qualcomm acquired Nubia without renewing its licensing agreement.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm denied Arm’s claims that it needed to terminate the license agreement. In an interview with Bloomberg, a Qualcomm representative accused Arm of trying to obstruct the legal process and said the termination was baseless. Qualcomm remains confident in its legal position and believes its rights under this agreement will be preserved.
However, if the dispute is not resolved after 60 days’ notice, Qualcomm may stop selling our products or face significant legal consequences, including substantial claims for damages.
Arm and Qualcomm have been in a legal battle since 2022, and Qualcomm has since filed a countersuit. The controversy revolves around Qualcomm’s acquisition of Nuvia, which led to the development of the Oryon CPU. These custom CPUs will be rolled out in mobile chips following their initial release in Windows laptops. Unlike Arm’s Cortex core, the Oryon CPU is a Qualcomm proprietary design.
When Qualcomm acquired Nubia, Arm argued that Nubia’s intellectual property developed under Arm’s license could not be transferred to Qualcomm without permission or a new agreement. Arm even called for the design to be scrapped entirely.
Qualcomm, on the other hand, claims its current licensing agreement covers the business of chip design startup Nubia, which it has already acquired.
This controversy could affect SoCs powered by Oryon CPUs, such as the Snapdragon X Elite (which is already in various PCs) and the new Snapdragon 8 Elite. However, older models such as Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 are not expected to be affected.
Qualcomm and Arm have previously been in talks to use Arm’s processor architecture in designs such as the Snapdragon X Elite, which powers Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC and other Windows laptops running on Arm.
Windows Central points out that traditional x86 processors are losing momentum due to energy issues, prompting Microsoft to develop Windows for Arm devices. Surface Pro 11 highlights this commitment, but the current conflict could threaten the entire program.
While Copilot+ PCs are still emerging, the licensing dispute could have a major impact on the global smartphone market, as Qualcomm chips are commonly found in Android smartphones.
