Qualcomm to Pay BlackBerry $940 Million Settlement for Patent Royalty Overpayments

BlackBerry and Qualcomm reached a settlement resolving all amounts payable in connection with an interim arbitration decision announced in April (see 1704120059), BlackBerry said Friday. Qualcomm will pay $940 million by May 31, including interest and attorneys’ fees and royalties for 2016 and Q1 of this year, it said. BlackBerry said in April that Qualcomm would have to pay a minimum of $815 million for patent royalty overpayments stemming from a Feb. 27-March 3 binding arbitration hearing in San Diego over whether Qualcomm’s agreement to cap certain royalties was applicable to a licensing agreement between the companies. In response to our request for comment Friday, a Qualcomm spokeswoman referred us to the company's April 13 news release. She also cited comments from Canaccord Genuity technology analyst Michael Walkley, saying: "In 2010, before its smartphone business collapsed, BlackBerry signed a nonrefundable agreement with Qualcomm covering royalty payments through 2015." Further, "A slump in demand for the Canadian company’s devices following the accord meant that it shipped far fewer phones than it expected, leading it to seek a refund on some of the payments.”