Qualcomm is facing the potential revocation of its chip architectural licence by Arm, which could significantly hinder its ability to produce new chips.
A Bloomberg report indicates that Arm has issued a 60-day notice to Qualcomm, signalling the termination of its chip design licence.
This event could deal a significant blow to Qualcomm’s plans for developing chipsets for smartphones, laptops, and the automotive industry.
The issue originates from a legal dispute in 2022 when Arm sued Qualcomm for contract breach and trademark infringement related to the creation of custom Phoenix cores without Arm’s approval.
Qualcomm contends that its current agreement encompasses the operations of Nuvia, the chip-design startup it acquired.
Arm, however, claims this action violates Qualcomm’s licence and insists that Qualcomm must destroy any Nuvia designs developed prior to the acquisition.
According to Arm, these designs cannot be transferred to Qualcomm without its consent. The termination of Nuvia’s licences occurred in February 2023 following unsuccessful negotiations.
Although newer Qualcomm CPUs like the Oryon, featured in the newly unveiled Snapdragon 8 Elite, no longer utilise Arm cores, they still depend on Arm’s instruction set for hardware and software communication.
The report also added that a Qualcomm spokesperson said the Arm was trying to use “more unfounded threats designed to strong-arm a longtime partner” and increase royalty rates.
It “appears to be an attempt to disrupt the legal process, and its claim for termination is completely baseless,” the spokesperson said. “Arm’s anticompetitive conduct will not be tolerated.”