Things are far from settled between Qualcomm and Arm. Now, Qualcomm is taking its turn to go to court because Arm allegedly deliberately obstructed the company.
The lawsuit between Arm and Qualcomm, which concluded late last year, has left deep marks between both parties. Qualcomm has now reportedly filed a complaint against Arm, according to documents reviewed by The Register. The chipmaker feels unfairly treated and accuses Arm of deliberate sabotage to compete with Qualcomm.
Just before Christmas, the court ruled in Qualcomm’s favor. This seemed to end a long legal dispute over licenses. For Arm, the matter was closed, but Qualcomm is not yet ready to forgive and forget. Qualcomm believes the lawsuit was part of Arm’s plan to establish itself as a competitor in the server chip market.
Supplier or Competitor?
Essentially, Qualcomm’s complaint is about its business relationship with Arm, which Qualcomm claims is being ‘misinterpreted’. Arm is the rights holder of ARM designs, which can be used by chip manufacturers for a fee to develop laptop and server chips. To date, Arm itself does not make processors, as CEO Rene Haas stated under oath during the trial.
Qualcomm verdenkt Arm echter van een verborgen agenda. De chipfabrikant vermoedt dat Arm onder eigen naam ook chips wil leveren. Recente ontwikkelingen lijken in die richting te sturen: volgens bronnen zou Meta al hebben ingetekend op ARM-chips door Arm, al is dat nog niet bevestigd door één van de betrokken partijen.
Parent company SoftBank is said to be behind this change of course, again according to Qualcomm. Since the failed acquisition by Nvidia, the Japanese parent company has been looking for ways to make Arm more profitable. Recently, it added ARM server chip maker Ampere to the family.
Harassment
If Arm starts developing chips itself, Qualcomm fears this would change the relationship with customers. Not only because Arm becomes a competitor alongside being a supplier, but also because Arm could force its customers to purchase chips. Qualcomm also complains about a substantial license increase for Armv9, despite only ‘limited improvements’.
The harassment doesn’t stop there, according to Qualcomm. Arm allegedly uses various tricks to undermine Qualcomm’s market position, from refusing service, not complying with license agreements, to even literally badmouthing Qualcomm to its customers. Arm has responded with a letter to the court to dismiss the complaint. In any case, a reconciliation doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.