Qualcomm and Apple have renewed their global patent licensing agreement, extending a deal that was previously set to expire in 2027. Here are the details.
To say that Apple and Qualcomm have had a rocky relationship would be an understatement.
Once major business partners, the companies became embroiled in a sprawling legal battle in 2017 over Qualcomm’s patent licensing practices and royalty payments.
In a nutshell, Apple sued Qualcomm in U.S. federal court in early 2017, challenging Qualcomm’s patent-licensing practices and seeking nearly $1 billion in royalty rebates that Apple said Qualcomm had improperly withheld.
The lawsuit came just three days after the FTC also sued Qualcomm, alleging anticompetitive licensing practices. The complaint specifically mentioned Qualcomm’s dealings with Apple, alleging that the company offered billions of dollars in conditional rebates in exchange for Apple exclusively using Qualcomm modem chips in new iPhones and iPads.
A few months later, Qualcomm countersued Apple, accusing the company of breaching agreements and interfering with its relationships with iPhone and iPad manufacturers.
The dispute ended in 2019, when Apple and Qualcomm agreed to drop all litigation against each other worldwide.
As part of the settlement, Apple made an undisclosed payment to Qualcomm that, among other things, resolved a dispute over royalty payments Apple had withheld during the legal battle. The companies also entered into a six-year global patent licensing agreement and a separate multiyear chipset supply deal.
That licensing agreement took effect on April 1, 2019, and included an option for Apple to extend it for another two years. Apple ultimately exercised that option, extending the agreement through March 2027.
Today, Qualcomm announced that the companies have renewed the agreement once again, with the new deal taking effect on April 1, 2027.
Qualcomm Incorporated today announced the renewal of its global patent license agreement with Apple, effective April 1, 2027.
“We are pleased to extend the Apple license agreement,” said John Han, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL).
The company did not disclose how long the renewed agreement will remain in effect, while Apple has yet to comment on the renewal.
It is worth noting that today’s announcement is unrelated to Apple’s use of Qualcomm modems on iPhones, something that has been widely discussed recently, as Apple used a Qualcomm modem in the U.S. version of the iPhone 18 Pro Max while relying on its own C2 modem elsewhere.
Apple has not officially commented on what its modem plans will look like going forward, but the expectation has been that the company will eventually move away from Qualcomm modems altogether.
To read Qualcomm’s original announcement, follow this link.
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Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.
He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.
