Qualcomm to pay BlackBerry $940mn to settle royalties dispute

Canadian software maker, BlackBerry has announced that it has reached an agreement with chip-maker, Qualcomm resolving all royalties disputes.

After the interim arbitration decision announced on April 12, the panel has now issued a final award providing for a payment of US$940 million by Qualcomm to BlackBerry. The chipmaker has agreed to pay the full amount on or before May 31.

The two companies had agreed to arbitrate a contract dispute over whether Qualcomm’s royalty cap program applied to payments made by BlackBerry under a licensing deal. The arbitrator determined that BlackBerry had indeed overpaid royalty fees between 2010 and 2015.

End of dispute with BlackBerry might sound like some breather for Qualcomm but it isn’t as Apple continues to stymie its way. Following in the footsteps of Federal Trade Commission that sued San Diego-based chip maker for antitrust violations, Apple too filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm for overcharging for chips and basic patents.

Qualcomm rebutted Apple’s case with a counter lawsuit. Earlier this month, the US chipmaker also sued Foxconn and three other Taiwanese manufacturers that supply iPhone and iPad components for not paying royalties.