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Qualcomm's dispute with Arm raises questions over chip licensing, royalties and competition as Arm expands into processor sales, with implications for chipmakers that depend on its technology

Qualcomm and Arm are locked in a legal dispute over licensing agreements as Arm expands into selling its own processors (Image: Bloomberg)

Harsh Shivam New Delhi 8 min read Last Updated : Oct 12 2026 | 4:28 PM IST

Qualcomm’s legal dispute with Arm Holdings has put the spotlight on how chipmakers access processor technology and the terms under which they use it. The case centres on allegations that Arm breached licensing agreements by withholding software tools, violating pricing commitments and disclosing a letter that Qualcomm says damaged its negotiations with Meta Platforms. Arm denies wrongdoing and argues that Qualcomm has not suffered harm, reported Reuters.

The dispute comes as Arm expands beyond licensing its intellectual property to developing and selling its own processors, raising questions about its relationship with chipmakers that depend on its technology and compete in the same markets. A US federal jury in Delaware had not reached a verdict when deliberations ended on October 9, according to Reuters, with discussions expected to resume on October 13.

Arm is a semiconductor technology company that develops processor architectures and licenses its intellectual property to chip designers. Its architecture provides the underlying instructions and rules that processors use to execute software. Companies can license this technology and build their own chips around it, without having to develop an instruction set architecture from scratch.

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