Qualcomm secures extension to global patent licensing pact with Apple

September 24, 2026 7:33 AM EDT

Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration

(Corrects headline to say "patent ‌licensing" agreement, ​not "chip ​licensing;" The error also appeared in a previous version of the story)

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Qualcomm said on Thursday Apple ‌has extended its patent-licensing agreement with the chip designer, even ⁠as the iPhone maker looks to cut its reliance on the company's ‌modem chips.

The semiconductor company did ‌not give a timeline for the latest move. The current agreement ends on March 31, 2027, with an option to ​extend it by two years. Both Apple and Qualcomm did not respond to requests for comment.

Even though the deal keeps Apple ⁠tied to some of Qualcomm's patent portfolio, the chip designer had said in July that ​revenue from Apple products would decline faster than expected.

Qualcomm's licensing business accounted for roughly 15% of total revenue in ​the June quarter. The company had ‌said it was banking on growth in its data center business to offset the lost revenue from ⁠Apple in 2027.

In 2023, Qualcomm signed a deal with Apple to supply 5G chips until at least 2026, at a time when the ⁠iPhone maker was facing increased challenges in China and looked to shore up ​its supply chains elsewhere.

The partnership has been shaped by a 2019 settlement that ended a two-year global legal battle over wireless-patent royalties and modem-chip supply. ‌They announced the truce in April 2019 as a U.S. jury trial between them was beginning ‌in San Diego.

Under the settlement, Apple made an undisclosed payment to ⁠Qualcomm, the companies dropped litigation ‌worldwide and agreed to ​a six-year global patent licensing deal from April 1, 2019.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Arun Koyyur)



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