Fabless chip giant Qualcomm Inc. will refund BlackBerry Inc. some $814.9 million plus interest and attorneys' fees in accordance with an arbitration panel's ruling over a royalty contract dispute, the companies said.

The dispute centered on royalties for certain past sales of subscriber units, according to Qualcomm (San Diego). The company said the parties had agreed to arbitrate a contract dispute relating to whether Qualcomm’s voluntary per unit royalty cap program applied to BlackBerry’s non-refundable pre-payments of royalties for sales of a specified number of subscriber units from 2010 through the end of 2015.

"While Qualcomm does not agree with the decision, it is binding and not appealable," Qualcomm said in a statement issued Wednesday (April 12).

Qualcomm said the arbitration decision was limited to prepayment provisions unique to BlackBerry’s license agreement with Qualcomm and has no impact on agreements with any other licensee.

In a separate statement, BlackBerry (Ontario, Canada) said a final award total including interest and attorneys' fees would be issued after a hearing May 30.

John Chen, BlackBerry's chairman and CEO, said the two companies have a long-standing relationship and continue to be valuable technology partners. "We are pleased the arbitration panel ruled in our favor and look forward to collaborating with Qualcomm in security for ASICs and solutions for the automotive industry," Chen said.

 ----Form EE Times