Patent war coming between Intel and Microsoft/Qualcomm over x86 emulation?

The Wintel alliance conquered the PC market but over the last decade it lost a lot of its glory as both parties completely failed to break into the mobile market. Now Microsoft and Qualcomm are getting ready to roll out Snapdragon 835 based devices that can run Windows 10 and traditional x86 apps via emulation.

It's a big revolution but a new blog post by Intel suggests the chip giant is severely displeased by the Microsoft/Qualcomm effort. Intel claims it welcomes lawful competition but argues that attempts to emulate x86 require its authorization:

However, there have been reports that some companies may try to emulate Intel’s proprietary x86 ISA without Intel’s authorization. Emulation is not a new technology, and Transmeta was notably the last company to claim to have produced a compatible x86 processor using emulation (“code morphing”) techniques. Intel enforced patents relating to SIMD instruction set enhancements against Transmeta’s x86 implementation even though it used emulation. In any event, Transmeta was not commercially successful, and it exited the microprocessor business 10 years ago.

Only time will tell if new attempts to emulate Intel’s x86 ISA will meet a different fate. Intel welcomes lawful competition, and we are confident that Intel’s microprocessors, which have been specifically optimized to implement Intel’s x86 ISA for almost four decades, will deliver amazing experiences, consistency across applications, and a full breadth of consumer offerings, full manageability and IT integration for the enterprise. However, we do not welcome unlawful infringement of our patents, and we fully expect other companies to continue to respect Intel’s intellectual property rights. Strong intellectual property protections make it possible for Intel to continue to invest the enormous resources required to advance Intel’s dynamic x86 ISA, and Intel will maintain its vigilance to protect its innovations and investments.

Intel didn't mention any names but it's clear this is a warning shot against Microsoft and Qualcomm. ZD Net contacted Intel for more details and got to hear that Intel will "vigorously enforce [their] intellectual property rights if [they] believe they are infringed":

I asked Intel if its post was intended to be a warning shot across the Microsoft/Qualcomm bow. A spokesperson's only response, was an emailed statement from Steve Rodgers, Intel Executive Vice President and General Counsel:

"Intel respects intellectual property rights and we expect others to do the same. x86 technology is both proprietary and central to our business, and we're concerned any time it appears that others may be copying it inappropriately. We will thoroughly evaluate any products that claim to emulate x86 technology, and vigorously enforce our intellectual property rights if we believe they are infringed."