Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips in trouble after judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit [UPDATED]

Qualcomm’s beloved and highly-praised Snapdragon chips are in hot water after a judge refused to dismiss a patent infringement lawsuit filed against the company. If the judge rules in favor of Collabo Innovations Inc. — which filed the lawsuit — Qualcomm might be forced to change how its chipsets are manufactured.

Collabo Innovations Inc. alleges that Qualcomm infringed a patent that the former had acquired from Panasonic. The patent involves a microcontroller chip that handles the shutdown processes of a system. Qualcomm had asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, but the judge ruled that this request was premature.

Judge Alan Albright said that there were ongoing disagreements about certain terms like “microcontroller”. The judge also ruled that Qualcomm’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit would be considered at a later date after further developments.

These sorts of lawsuits often end up with the accused party paying a sum or royalties to the entity that had sued them. If the judge rules in favor of Collabo Innovations Inc., Qualcomm might be ordered to pay a handsome sum of money to the company. However, a harsher result may see Qualcomm being told to stop using the microcontroller chip in its Snapdragon processors entirely.