Arm sues Qualcomm, aiming to unwind Qualcomm’s $1.4 billion Nuvia purchase

Chip technology firm Arm Ltd, which is owned by Softbank Group Corp, on Wednesday said it had sued Qualcomm Inc and Qualcomm’s recently acquired chip design firm Nuvia Inc for breach of license agreements and trademark infringement. Arm is seeking an injunction that would require Qualcomm to destroy designs developed under Nuvia’s license agreements with Arm. Arm alleged its approval was needed before these could be transferred to Qualcomm.

Qualcomm, which acquired Nuvia for $1.4 billion last year, said Arm has no right to interfere with Qualcomm’s or NUVIA’s innovations. “Arm’s complaint ignores the fact that Qualcomm has broad, well-established license rights covering its custom-designed CPU’s, and we are confident those rights will be affirmed,” said Ann Chaplin, General Counsel of Qualcomm in a statement.