Qualcomm has taken Arm Holdings to trial in Delaware over alleged breaches of their chip-licensing agreements, opening another phase of litigation between two companies with a longstanding commercial relationship in the Kioxia Owes Viasat $229m in Patent Verdict | Lawyer Monthly.
The trial opened on October 5 before US District Judge Maryellen Noreika in the Pfizer and Moderna Lose Bayer mRNA Patent Bids | Lawyer Monthly. The case, Qualcomm Incorporated et al v. ARM Holdings PLC, C.A. No. 24-490-MN, stems from a complaint Qualcomm filed on April 18, 2024 alleging that Arm failed to provide deliverables required under Qualcomm’s Architecture License Agreement.
Qualcomm subsequently expanded its claims. A December 2024 amended complaint added allegations concerning Arm’s attempt to terminate the Qualcomm Architecture License Agreement and its public disclosure of that move. Qualcomm amended the complaint again in June 2025 to allege that Arm breached the parties’ Technology License Agreement by failing to offer licences on commercially reasonable prices and terms.
In March 2026, Qualcomm added another breach-of-contract claim alleging that Arm failed to negotiate certain licence terms in good faith. Judge Noreika denied Arm’s attempt to strike that claim on July 14, allowing it to remain part of the case heading into trial.
Arm disputes Qualcomm’s allegations and has said in its regulatory filings that it intends to defend the claims vigorously. The UK chip-technology company has also acknowledged that the litigation could affect its relationship with Qualcomm, which accounted for 9% of Arm’s total revenue in the financial year ended March 31, 2026.
The litigation has drawn a substantial roster of US firms. Court filings identify Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Dunn Isaacson Rhee and Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell among Qualcomm’s counsel, with Karen Dunn among the lawyers acting for the company. Arm’s lawyers include Kirkland & Ellis, Nike, Lululemon End Mirror Patent Dispute | Lawyer Monthly and Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, with Gregg LoCascio among its Kirkland counsel.
The current case follows earlier litigation initiated by Arm in 2022 after Qualcomm acquired chip developer Nuvia. A Delaware jury found in December 2024 that Qualcomm had not breached Nuvia’s Architecture License Agreement and that Qualcomm CPUs incorporating designs acquired through Nuvia were licensed under Qualcomm’s own agreement with Arm. The jury did not reach a verdict on whether Nuvia itself breached its agreement.
On September 30, 2025, Judge Noreika entered final judgment upholding the jury’s verdict in Qualcomm’s favour, granting judgment to Nuvia and dismissing Arm’s remaining claims. Arm filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit the following day, and that appeal remains pending.
The latest trial therefore arrives against an unusual background in which Qualcomm and Arm remain significant commercial partners while pursuing separate litigation against each other. It also shows how intellectual-property licensing relationships can develop into wider contractual disputes over technology access, pricing, termination rights and negotiations over future licence terms.
For commercial litigators and in-house legal teams, the dispute is significant because the remedies could affect an ongoing licensing relationship rather than simply resolve a historic damages claim. Arm’s own disclosures recognise that the litigation could have financial and operational consequences for its relationship with one of its largest customers.
The Delaware proceedings will therefore be watched both for the outcome of Qualcomm’s individual contract claims and for their implications for long-running technology licensing arrangements where commercial relationships and underlying products continue to evolve.