Jury Deadlocked in Arm Holdings vs. Qualcomm Case

(Reuters) – A jury in U.S. federal court in Delaware stated it was deadlocked on one question regarding Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM)'s lawsuit against Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), but continues deliberating on two others.

Arm is suing Qualcomm, its biggest customer, over the destruction of chip designs acquired from Nuvia for $1.4 billion in 2021, which Qualcomm is using to boost its personal computer market efforts.

The case's outcome impacts Qualcomm's market expansion using Nuvia's technology and Arm's reputation as a neutral entity in the chip industry.

Nuvia and Qualcomm had licensing agreements with Arm, but Qualcomm attempted to transfer Nuvia's designs after acquiring the startup. Arm argued that Nuvia required its permission for this transfer and subsequently terminated Nuvia's license, leading to legal disputes.

The jury needs to reach a unanimous decision on three questions. The first, regarding whether Nuvia breached its agreement with Arm, has resulted in a deadlock. The jury is still considering two questions: whether Qualcomm breached Nuvia's Arm license agreement and whether Qualcomm’s central processor designs comply with its own agreement with Arm.