BlackBerry

BlackBerry Qualcomm arbitration settlement finalises at $940 million

BlackBerry announced today that it has reached an agreement with Qualcomm resolving all amounts payable in connection with the interim arbitration decision announced on April 12, 2017.

Following a joint stipulation by the parties, the arbitration panel has issued a final award providing for the payment by Qualcomm to BlackBerry of a total amount of U.S.$940,000,000 including interest and attorneys’ fees, net of certain royalties due from BlackBerry for calendar 2016 and the first quarter of calendar 2017.

Qualcomm will pay the full amount of the final award on or before May 31, 2017.

The initial amount was awarded to BlackBerry after an arbitration hearing concluded that Qualcomm had been overcharging the company for patent royalties between 2010 and 2015.

On April 20, 2016, BlackBerry and Qualcomm entered into an agreement to arbitrate a dispute regarding whether Qualcomm’s agreement to cap certain royalties applied to payments made by BlackBerry under a license agreement between the parties.

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.