BlackBerry awarded $815 million in arbitration with Qualcomm over royalty overpayments

“BlackBerry Ltd. says it has been awarded $814.9 million US in a binding interim arbitration decision in a dispute with Qualcomm Inc. over royalty overpayments,” The Canadian Press reports.

“The two companies agreed last year to arbitrate a disagreement regarding whether Qualcomm’s agreement to cap certain royalties applied to payments made by BlackBerry under a license agreement,” The Canadian Press reports.

“BlackBerry chief executive John Chen said the two companies have a longstanding relationship and continue to be valued partners,” The Canadian Press reports.

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Bodes well for Apple?

In 2017, Qualcomm’s licensing scam — charging a percentage of the total cost of all components in the phone, even non-Qualcomm components — is ludicrous.

SEE ALSO:
Qualcomm countersues Apple – April 11, 2017
Qualcomm wants FTC to drop their antitrust suit, but it doesn’t mater because Apple’s isn’t going anywhere – April 5, 2017
Apple’s dispute with Qualcomm could last two years – March 3, 2017
Apple widens global patent war, files lawsuit against Qualcomm in the United Kingdom – March 2, 2017
Apple may have paid Qualcomm $40 per iPhone; accounting for 1/3rd of Qualcomm’s revenue – February 10, 2017
Conservative groups ask President Trump to terminate FCC lawsuit over Qualcomm patent licensing – January 27, 2016
Qualcomm CEO fires back at Apple: Bring it on – January 26, 2017
Apple sues Qualcomm in China seeking 1 billion yuan – January 25, 2017
Qualcomm comments on Apple’s lawsuits in China – January 25, 2017
Apple’s rebellion against the ‘Qualcomm Tax’ – January 24, 2017
Despite lawsuit, Qualcomm wants to keep doing business – January 24, 2017
Why Apple, the FTC, and others are attacking Qualcomm’s royalty model – January 24, 2017
Here are the most damning parts of Apple’s blockbuster lawsuit against Qualcomm – January 23, 2017
Apple’s legal assault on Qualcomm part of iPhone margin grab – January 23, 2017
Qualcomm says Apple’s claims are ‘baseless’ in response to Cupertino’s $1 billion lawsuit – January 21, 2017
Apple sues Qualcomm for $1 billion over onerous licensing practices – January 20, 2017
Qualcomm exec says FTC ‘rushed’ antitrust lawsuit before President-elect Trump’s inauguration – January 19, 2017
FTC alleges Qualcomm forced Apple into iPhone LTE chip deals – January 18, 2017
FTC charges Qualcomm with monopolizing key smartphone chip; alleges extracted exclusivity from Apple in exchange for reduced patent royalties – January 17, 2017
After eating Intel’s mobile lunch, Apple could next devour Qualcomm’s Baseband Processor business – January 20, 2015
Analyst: Apple’s going to dump Intel modems if they keep lagging Qualcomm – December 5, 2016
Yes, Apple is throttling download speeds for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Verizon and Sprint versions – November 19, 2016
Apple’s modem choices may leave Verizon iPhone users feeling throttled – November 18, 2016
Tests show iPhone 7 Plus models with Qualcomm modem perform significantly better than those with Intel modem – October 20, 2016

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Bob” for the heads up.]

3 Comments

  1. “The company [Qualcomm] said the decision is limited to provisions unique to BlackBerry’s license agreement with Qualcomm and has no impact on agreements with any other licensee.”

    So lawyers (I’m not one, don’t play one on TV, nor do I EVER want to be one), what kind of bearing will this have on Apple’s and various governments’ suits concerning Qualcomm’s licensing practices? Is there even enough public information out there about the Qualcomm/Blackberry licensing deal to tell?

    On the face of it, this looks like it supports the idea that Qualcomm’s licensing deals are improper, but the devil is in the details.

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.