Court Upholds Qualcomm's Nuvia Arm License

A Delaware federal judge, Maryellen Noreika, dismissed Arm’s last remaining claim against Qualcomm, effectively upholding a December jury verdict that Qualcomm and its Nuvia unit hold a valid license to use Arm’s architecture and did not breach licensing agreements. The dispute stems from Qualcomm’s $1.4 billion 2021 acquisition of Nuvia and Nuvia’s pivot from Arm-based data-center CPUs to energy-efficient laptop processors that began appearing in 2024 devices such as Microsoft Surface laptops. Arm had asked the court to overturn the two-count verdict or order a retrial after jurors deadlocked on a third count, but Judge Noreika denied those requests; Arm says it will appeal. Qualcomm said the ruling affirms its right to innovate and allows it to continue selling those Arm-based chips without additional licensing fees. A related Qualcomm lawsuit accusing Arm of anti-competitive conduct remains pending and is expected to go to trial in March 2026.