ARM stands for the basic technology in almost all mobile system circuits, Apple’s, Samsung’s and Qualcomm’s. Now, with Qualcomm just releasing the new Snapdragon 8 Elite, ARM is withdrawing Qualcomm’s license to manufacture chips based on ARM’s basic chip architecture.
The conflict between ARM and Qualcomm goes back several years and started in 2022 when ARM sued Qualcomm. ARM said then that Qualcomm would have negotiated a new license after it bought a chip design startup called Nuvia that had an Arm license for other types of applications. Qualcomm didn’t, and the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite includes processors based on Nuvia’s work. To the site Sammobile a spokesperson for Qualcomm says that the withdrawal of Qualcomm’s license is a desperate attempt by ARM to influence the legal process and that the licenses Qualcomm has also cover those involved in the conflict.
ARM believes that Qualcomm should have destroyed all the chip designs Nuvia made before they were bought by Qualcomm because, according to ARM, the license for these cannot be transferred to Qualcomm.
Now ARM has given Qualcomm a 60-day grace period to resolve the dispute. Should the dispute not be resolved, it could have devastating consequences for Qualcomm, which would then potentially be forced to cease sales of all circuits based on ARM’s basic technology.
The trial begins in December and Qualcomm says it is confident that a legal assessment will confirm that Qualcomm has the required rights under the agreement.
Source: www.mobil.se
