ARM can block access to future versions. And if huawei is found using their IP, it can harass huawei with lawsuits.
Chinese semiconductor thread II
- Thread starter vincent
- Start date
So they can't do anything about Huawei using their existing permanent license. And Huawei can countersue in China for ARM breaking contract under a recent anti sanctions law.
If it comes down to breaking contracts like that then it's total economic warfare. Contracts don't apply and I don't think they want to play this game.
Exactly, I don’t understand why it’s so hard for people to understand this. Especially as huawei won’t be selling phones in five eye countries
Even ISA licenses may not be permanent. People used to say that about Apple, but then last year it was publicly announced that Apple renewed their ARM license till 2040. There was also a rumor about Qualcomm's ISA license expiring soon, to which they responded that their license is valid "several years beyond 2025". This suggests ISA licenses also have expiry dates. If Huawei already secured v9 license, they would have many years to plan the move for something else.
No, they actually got and paid for the permanent license. So if arm revokes it, huawei could definitely take them to the courts
Maybe RISC-V is just too much effort given western companies/counter parties are also on that commission. Let say huawei really needs feature X but qualcomm needs feature Y and only one can make it into the next standard release. Are you really going to wait if an foreign ruled commission agrees with your approval?
So if Huawei creates their own ISA you don't really have to wait on that commissions and counter parties to agree with your proposals. You can always later build in support for the new RISC-V accepted proposals. Given that RISC-V standard is open and free(for now) making an Rosetta-2 like transpiler like Apple did for x64 to apple arm64 would be hassle free. If Huawei ISA takes RISC-V in mind it would be even more easier.
Huawei needs to find a way of selling their phones worldwide.
five eye countries != rest of the world. There is no reason why Huawei cannot sell its phones with ARM V9 to all of global south
This entire situation will be a slow burn actually. Huawei just apparently got Tencent onboard to Harmony with Wechat. It's strategy worldwide is only entering those market once harmony has support for enough apps used by that market.
Keep in mind that the main user for RISC-V in China is Alibaba, not Huawei. Huawei is pretty firmly in bed with ARM at this point. And in case it doesn't get access to new cores made by ARM, it is developing its own Taishan core for that reason