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As of August 18, 2026, Qualcomm and Nuvia have the stronger position in the original Arm lawsuit: a Delaware judge entered final judgment for them on September 30, 2025. Arm has appealed, however, and Qualcomm’s separate contract lawsuit against Arm is still pending, with a trial scheduled for October 5, 2026, according to a Qualcomm regulatory filing. The dispute therefore remains a live test of how Arm licenses custom CPU technology after an acquisition.
What the Arm–Qualcomm dispute is actually about
This is primarily a contract and licensing fight, not a straightforward patent-infringement case. The central question is whether Qualcomm could use technology developed under Nuvia’s separate Arm architecture license after acquiring Nuvia, or whether that transaction required Arm’s consent, a renegotiation, termination, or destruction of the affected technology.
Arm licenses an instruction-set architecture (ISA)—the rules that software-compatible processors follow. An Architecture License Agreement allows a company to design its own compatible CPU cores. A Technology License Agreement can cover Arm implementation technology, tools, or other intellectual property. Qualcomm also had its own pre-existing Arm agreements, separate from Nuvia’s contract. The legal dispute turns on how those contracts govern assignment and the use of custom implementations, rather than on whether Qualcomm may use the Arm instruction set at all. The Delaware court explains this distinction in its post-trial opinion: Arm Ltd. v. Qualcomm, Case No. 22-1146.
Why Nuvia triggered the conflict
Nuvia was founded by former Apple chip engineers to develop custom Arm-compatible CPU technology. Qualcomm acquired Nuvia in 2021, and the resulting technology became associated with Qualcomm’s Oryon CPU program. This was not simply a purchase of a finished processor line. The critical issue was whether Nuvia’s contractual rights and technology could be used inside Qualcomm after the acquisition.
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Arm says Nuvia’s architecture agreement could not be assigned to Qualcomm without Arm’s approval. Arm’s filings state that it terminated the Nuvia agreement in March 2022 after Nuvia failed to obtain consent to the assignment. That is Arm’s contractual position, not an uncontested finding that every Nuvia right automatically ended: Arm’s 2026 SEC filing.
Arm’s original lawsuit
Arm sued Qualcomm, Qualcomm Technologies and Nuvia in Delaware on August 31, 2022. Arm alleged breaches of the relevant license agreements and trademark infringement. Among the remedies it sought were orders requiring Qualcomm to stop using, and potentially destroy, technology that Arm said had been developed under Nuvia’s agreement. Arm’s announcement is available here: Arm’s August 31, 2022 complaint announcement.
That request was narrower than saying all Snapdragon products or all Arm-based Qualcomm processors had to be shut down. The case focused on Nuvia-derived technology and the particular agreements governing it.
What the December 2024 jury decided
The Delaware trial ran from December 16 through December 20, 2024. The jury’s findings were important but not complete:
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- Qualcomm did not breach the Nuvia architecture license agreement.
- Qualcomm’s CPUs incorporating designs obtained through the Nuvia acquisition were licensed under Qualcomm’s separate Arm agreement.
- The jury did not reach a verdict on whether Nuvia itself breached its agreement.
Qualcomm described the result as a win in its trial statement. Saying simply that “Qualcomm won” is broadly fair, but it obscures the unresolved Nuvia question that remained for the judge.
Why the September 30, 2025 judgment matters
A jury verdict is not the same as a final judgment. On September 30, 2025, the court:
- denied Arm’s requests for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial;
- granted Nuvia judgment as a matter of law on the unresolved breach issue;
- upheld the jury’s favorable findings for Qualcomm; and
- entered final judgment for Qualcomm and Nuvia, dismissing Arm’s remaining claims.
The operative ruling is the court’s September 30, 2025 opinion. Qualcomm’s 2025 Form 10-K also describes the judgment and the relief Arm had sought: Qualcomm’s filing.
Arm’s appeal is still pending
Arm filed a notice of appeal on October 1, 2025, taking the original case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Arm’s 2026 filing identified the appeal as pending. The appeal may examine how the license agreements were interpreted and how the district court handled its post-trial rulings; its outcome should not be predicted without a later appellate decision. See Arm’s 2026 SEC filing.
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Qualcomm’s separate lawsuit against Arm
The companies are also litigating a different case. Qualcomm filed a Delaware action on April 18, 2024, alleging that Arm failed to meet delivery obligations under Qualcomm’s own architecture license agreement. Qualcomm amended that complaint in December 2024 to add allegations concerning an Arm notice of breach, according to Arm’s 2026 Form 20-F.
This second case should not be merged with Arm’s original suit. The cases involve different contractual theories:
| Proceeding | Core issue | Status as of August 18, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Arm’s 2022 case | Whether Qualcomm’s use of Nuvia-derived technology violated Nuvia’s agreement or Qualcomm’s own Arm license | Final district-court judgment for Qualcomm and Nuvia; Arm appeal pending |
| Qualcomm’s April 2024 case | Whether Arm failed to satisfy obligations under Qualcomm’s architecture license, including allegations added after an Arm notice of breach | Pending in Delaware; trial scheduled for October 5, 2026, subject to court changes |
Qualcomm’s 2026 disclosure lists the October 5 date: Qualcomm’s filing. A scheduled date is not a guarantee that a trial will occur then; courts can continue, settle or otherwise dispose of cases.
Key procedural milestones
| Date | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Qualcomm acquires Nuvia | Creates the assignment and technology-transfer dispute. |
| March 2022 | Arm says it terminated Nuvia’s architecture agreement | Arm’s stated response to the alleged unapproved assignment. |
| August 31, 2022 | Arm files its Delaware lawsuit | Original litigation begins. |
| April 18, 2024 | Qualcomm files a separate action against Arm | Creates a second legal front over Qualcomm’s own license. |
| December 16–20, 2024 | Jury trial in Arm’s case | Qualcomm prevails on the central Qualcomm-license questions; the Nuvia-breach question is incomplete. |
| December 2024 | Qualcomm amends its separate complaint | Adds allegations concerning an Arm notice of breach. |
| September 30, 2025 | Final judgment for Qualcomm and Nuvia | Turns the trial result into an operative district-court judgment. |
| October 1, 2025 | Arm files its appeal | Original case moves to appellate review. |
| January 7, 2026 | Court denies Qualcomm’s motion to add Arm Limited to the April 2024 case | Illustrates the separate case’s procedural complexity. |
| January 8, 2026 | Qualcomm brings another suit concerning allegations from the April 2024 litigation, according to Arm | Expands the dispute’s procedural footprint. |
| October 5, 2026 | Trial scheduled in Qualcomm’s separate case | Next known milestone, subject to change. |
What this means for Oryon and Snapdragon
The district-court judgment supports Qualcomm’s position that its custom CPU designs incorporating Nuvia-derived work are covered by Qualcomm’s own Arm agreement. Qualcomm has publicly characterized Oryon as an Arm-compliant custom CPU and said it intends to continue developing products around it: Qualcomm’s verdict statement.
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That does not establish that every Oryon product, future design or Qualcomm agreement has identical legal coverage. Nor does the available judgment establish that consumers must stop using existing Snapdragon devices. The practical risks are longer-term: an adverse appeal ruling, a different outcome in the separate contract case, or difficult licensing negotiations could affect future road maps, support commitments or product economics.
What customers should watch
- The Third Circuit appeal and any stay, reversal or affirmance.
- The October 5, 2026 trial date and later scheduling orders.
- A settlement or amended licensing agreement.
- Company disclosures affecting Snapdragon products in PCs, phones, automotive and data centers.
- Indemnity and continuity provisions in contracts with Qualcomm or other Arm licensees.
Why the licensing model is at stake
The dispute tests how portable a custom-CPU license is after a merger or acquisition. The clauses with the greatest practical significance include:
- Assignment and change-of-control: whether a license can move to an acquirer and what consent is required.
- Derivative technology: whether designs created under one agreement remain subject to that agreement after transfer.
- Confidentiality and use restrictions: which technical materials may be retained, modified or combined with a buyer’s own work.
- Delivery and support obligations: what Arm must provide under a licensee’s separate agreement.
A ruling that makes assignment consent easier to enforce could make acquisitions and employee or technology transfers more cumbersome for Arm licensees. Conversely, a ruling that broadly recognizes a buyer’s existing license could reduce uncertainty for companies investing in custom Arm cores. Those are industry implications, not automatic legal consequences for every licensee.
What happens next
- Arm’s appeal proceeds in the Third Circuit; no outcome is established yet.
- Qualcomm’s separate Delaware case moves toward the October 5, 2026 scheduled trial, unless the court changes the timetable.
- The parties could settle, renegotiate licensing terms or continue litigating both fronts.
- Investors and customers should rely on later court orders and SEC disclosures for any change affecting products or contractual rights.
The Bottom Line
Qualcomm and Nuvia won the original district-court case, preserving Qualcomm’s current ability to use the Nuvia-derived technology under the judgment described in the filings. Arm’s appeal and Qualcomm’s separate contract lawsuit mean the broader licensing relationship—and the commercial rules for future custom Arm CPUs—remains unsettled.
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