The trial opened October 5 before a jury and is expected to last five days, through about October 9. Qualcomm is asking the court for relief that could stop its royalty payments to Arm for up to five years. Judge Noreika is separately weighing whether to strike a contract term that could limit Qualcomm to smaller damages, a ruling that would shape the stakes of the jury’s verdict.
Qualcomm’s damages theory centers on a Meta chip deal. Qualcomm alleges that Arm leaked its 2024 threat to terminate Qualcomm’s architecture license, which damaged Qualcomm’s relationship with Meta; Meta was concerned that Qualcomm could lose its Arm license. A bench-trial portion will address whether Arm negotiated in good faith, with CEO Rene Haas testifying.
The dispute is the second trial in the companies’ licensing marathon, which began when Arm sued over Qualcomm’s acquisition of Nuvia and the use of its CPU designs. Earlier press figures of $2.9 billion and $1 billion in potential damages remain unconfirmed. Qualcomm traded down 0.19 percent to $180.46 ($189.5 billion market cap) and Arm rose 0.45 percent to $304.26 ($325 billion) on Tuesday morning, suggesting the market is waiting for a verdict rather than repricing on opening arguments.