Qualcomm secures complete legal victory over Arm regarding Snapdragon X Oryon CPU cores

Qualcomm Triumphs Over Arm in Landmark Legal Battle

In a decisive legal victory that reverberates through the semiconductor industry, Qualcomm, alongside its subsidiary Nuvia, has definitively won its protracted legal dispute against Arm. The heart of the conflict lay in the proprietary Oryon CPU cores, which form the backbone of Qualcomm's cutting-edge Snapdragon X processors. A U.S. District Court in Delaware has decreed that neither Qualcomm nor Nuvia has infringed upon any of Arm's Architecture License Agreements (ALA). This landmark ruling dismisses Arm's final outstanding claim and rejects their plea for a rehearing, signaling a clear end to this contentious chapter.

The Genesis of the Dispute

The legal skirmish stemmed from Arm's allegations that Qualcomm's use of Nuvia's Oryon cores, designed for client processors based on the Arm v8 architecture, constituted a violation of licensing terms. Arm contended that Qualcomm should have renegotiated its licensing agreements following its acquisition of Nuvia in 2021. Furthermore, Arm sought to invalidate these designs, arguing they breached Nuvia's initial architecture licenses with Arm. Qualcomm, however, maintained that its existing Architecture License Agreement (ALA) for the Arm instruction set inherently covered innovations by its subsidiaries.

A Resounding Victory for Innovation

The court's decision represents an unequivocal win for Qualcomm and Nuvia. "Today's court ruling signifies a complete victory for Qualcomm and its subsidiary Nuvia," declared Ann Chaplin, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Qualcomm. "This decision follows Qualcomm's jury trial win in December 2024 and provides a full and final resolution in favor of Qualcomm. Our right to innovate has prevailed in this matter, and we hope Arm will return to fair and competitive practices in its engagement with the Arm ecosystem." This legal triumph underscores Qualcomm's confidence in its internal chip design capabilities and its strategic foresight in acquiring Nuvia.

Oryon's Design Philosophy and Arm's Influence

Intriguingly, Gerard Williams III, a key architect of the Oryon cores and a former Apple chip designer, has indicated that Qualcomm's design incorporates "one percent or less" of Arm's proprietary technology. Williams co-founded Nuvia in 2019 with the ambitious goal of creating high-performance, energy-efficient custom processor cores for data centers. To achieve this, Nuvia secured two crucial licenses from Arm: a Technology License Agreement (TLA) for modifying existing cores and an Architecture License Agreement (ALA) for developing their own unique designs. Nuvia's strategy was explicitly centered on crafting novel designs from the ground up, minimizing reliance on Arm's intellectual property, a fact that the court has now validated.

Ongoing Legal Proceedings and Qualcomm's Counterclaims

While this ruling is a significant milestone, the legal saga is not entirely over. Qualcomm has filed its own lawsuit against Arm, accusing them of breach of contract, intentional interference with contractual relations, and engaging in anti-competitive behavior aimed at stifling innovation and unfairly promoting its own products over those of its long-standing partners. This counter-litigation is slated for a hearing in March 2026, setting the stage for further scrutiny of Arm's business practices. The industry will be watching closely to see how these ongoing legal battles shape the future of processor design and competition within the Arm ecosystem.