BlackBerry gets $768 million from Qualcomm for overpaid royalties

Qualcomm must pay BlackBerry 814.9 million dollars, converted 768 million euros. That is the outcome of a binding arbitration case between the manufacturers. The chip designer has to pay the amount because the company overcharged for royalties between 2010 and 2015.

BlackBerry announced in a press release on Wednesday that it will receive a minimum of $ 814,868,350 from Qualcomm. That amount increases because the lawyer’s fees and statutory interest are also included. The final amount will be announced after May 30.

Qualcomm reports in its own press release that the dispute concerned royalties paid by BlackBerry between 2010 and 2015 per subscriber unit. It can be concluded from this that BlackBerry paid an amount to Qualcomm for every user of its BIS service. The companies do not disclose exactly what the royalties were paid for. These may be related to certain patents for software or hardware technologies.

Qualcomm disagrees with the ruling, but because both companies have agreed to settle the dispute through binding arbitration, it is not possible to appeal. According to Qualcomm, this was a specific agreement with BlackBerry and the case does not affect agreements with other manufacturers.

Apple is also involved in a royalties lawsuit with Qualcomm. The iPhone maker says Qualcomm must return a billion dollars in overpaid royalties. Qualcomm then responded with a complaint against Apple about non-compliance with agreements.

Authorities worldwide have accused Qualcomm of abusing its position in the market in recent years. In January, the US Federal Trade Commission came to that conclusion. At the end of last year, the South Korean competition authority fined Qualcomm an estimated 815 million euros for obstructing competition and violating patent regulations. Qualcomm is challenging that fine.

At the beginning of 2015, the chipmaker was fined millions in China for similar reasons. Then Qualcomm did not appeal, but a settlement followed. There are two ongoing investigations into Qualcomm’s business practices in Europe. In a preliminary conclusion, the European Commission stated that Qualcomm has illegally paid manufacturers for exclusive purchase of its chipsets. No fine has yet been imposed in this case, but it could follow if Qualcomm fails to refute the allegations.