BlackBerry Receives $815M In Arbitration Case Against Qualcomm, A Good Sign For Apple

BlackBerry wins the arbitration case against Qualcomm. Its victory could be a good indication for Apple who also sued Qualcomm for similar charges.

On Wednesday, BlackBerry was awarded a preliminary $814.9 million in royalty for overpayments made to Qualcomm, CNBC reported. The Canadian company's U.S.-trade was briefly halted, but its shared jumped to more than 18 percent on the news. Meanwhile, Qualcomm share prices went down to more than two percent.

The final award, including the interest and attorney fees will be issued after a hearing on May 30. The result of the case is a good indication for Apple which also sued Qualcomm for overcharges in royalty payment.

In April, BlackBerry and Qualcomm discussed the dispute and analyze the existing "agreement to cap certain royalties applied to payments made by BlackBerry under a license agreement between the two parties."

In another report from CNBC, Apple also sued Qualcomm for roughly $1 billion over royalties. The Cupertino-tech giant claims that Qualcomm has taken "radical steps" including the withholding of nearly $1 billion in payment as retaliation for responding truthfully to law enforcement agencies who are investigating them.

"Despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined," Apple said.

The report added that the retaliation happened after Apple cooperated with the Korean authorities' antitrust investigation of Qualcomm. Korean fined Qualcomm $854 million for unfair practices in December.

"Apple has intentionally mischaracterized our agreements and negotiations," Qualcomm Executive Vice President and General Counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement. "We welcome the opportunity to have these meritless claims heard in court where we will be entitled to full discovery of Apple's practices and a robust examination of the merits."

However, despite the dispute between Qualcomm and BlackBerry, the pair remains partners. We "continue to be valued technology partners," said BlackBerry CEO John Chen. The Canadian company will continue to collaborate with the American multinational semiconductor and telecommunications Equipment Company.

Will Apple win the  case against Qualcomm? Drop a comment below.