Apple, Qualcomm, and ARM: Lawsuits, Licenses, and the Changing Landscape

Apple never owned ARM vziw. In any case, Wikipedia makes no mention of Apple ever owning it.

Qualcomm has the same architectural license as Apple, namely on the ARMv8 (and V9) ISA. It is unlikely that Apple will pay less, but the amounts are secret.

Apple and Qualcomm pay the now Japanese ARM if they make a chip design themselves, not for a chip design, but for the guarantee that their chip design meets the ARMv8 specs.

However, ARM sued Qualcomm because Qualcomm acquired a company (Nuvia) that had a certain ARM license, and the rest of Qualcomm wanted to use that license as well

Both Apple and ARM have therefore sued Qualcomm with the aim of extorting money. Apple lost the case sadly, and ARM now has to deal with Qualcomm helping their biggest competitor.

It is now clear to all ARM licensees that ARM is no longer an independent ‘Switzerland’: First NVidia wanted to take over, and now ARM has sued one of its largest customers. In addition, there are export restrictions on some ARM designs (made in Houston).

So money is not the most important thing. Just like the reason why Android runs on a Linux kernel: It’s about freedom and security.

2023-08-04 19:20:09
#Qualcomm #NXP #Bosch #start #company #develop #RISCV #chips