Key Milestones in European SEP/FRAND Law in 2021
Panorama of major cases and deals in European SEP/FRAND law in 2021 including prominent battles involving companies like Ericsson, Samsung, Interdigital, Xiaomi, Huawei, Daimler, Nokia, Sharp, Conversant, Continental, Lenovo, Motorola, and more. The evolution of ASIs, pre-emptive claims, FRAND trials, and global patent battles over 3G and 4G patents are highlighted, shaping the landscape of SEP/FRAND law.
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Panorama of major cases and deals announced over 2021 6 + 1 milestones in European SEP/FRAND law by Mathieu Klos (Co-Editor JUVE Patent)
Milestone 1 From ASI to AAAASI to pre-emptive AASIs Ericsson vs. Samsung: global ASI/AASI battle including China and USA => prominent case that put the ASI issue on a global agenda Interdigital vs Xiaomi: ASIs in China and India; Munich Regional Court granted AASI/AAAASI ASI might be seen as unwillingness in main proceedings => Because of potential consequences in Germany, ASIs are practically dead IP Bridge vs Huawei: Munich Regional Court granted pre-emptive AASI => pre-emptive AASI seems to become a standard claim by SEP holders against Chinese companies
Milestone 2 Connected Cars: Nokia/Sharp/Conversant vs Daimler June: Daimler agrees on an SEP licence with Nokia, earlier agreements with Sharp and Conversant. IP Bridge against Daimler still ongoing. => No clarification by CJEU on FRAND licence in production chain and other SEP issues Continental continues with complaint against Nokia at EU Commission and FRAND declarative actions in the US?
Milestone 3 InterDigital vs Lenovo/Motorola Global patent battle over 3G and 4G patents in the US, UK and China UK High Court hears FRAND trial in January 2022. Since August 2020 all SEP cases have been settled before FRAND judgment => First UK judgment on FRAND rate following Unwired Planet/Huawei?
Milestone 4 Sisvel vs. Haier II First Sisvel/Haier ruling by German Federal Court of Justice in May 2020 Second Sisvel/Haier ruling in February 2021 => Court increased requirements for licence willingness for implementers. => Divergent FRAND judgments of German patent courts come to an end
Milestone 5 Nokia vs Oppo June: Nokia challenged Oppo over 5G and implementation patents in Germany (24 claims; 9 SEPs, 5 non-SEPs); UK (4 claims; 3 SEPs, 1 non-SEP); France (2 claims, both non-SEPs); Spain (2 claims, both non-SEPs) as well as India, Indonesia, Russia September: Oppo countersued Nokia in China (more than 20 claims), Germany (6 SEPs) and Netherlands (2 revocation claims); including 5G patents => Biggest SEP case started in 2021. First global mega-battles over 5G patents
Milestone 6 Philips vs Wiko and Xiaomi Global SEP battle over 3G and 4G plus implementation patents (Wiko case) UK High Court: ex-parte ASI, judgment not published (Xiaomi case) France: Last week Regional Court Paris ruled it has jurisdiction to determine a global FRAND licence and ordered ETSI to remain party in the dispute (Xiaomi case) Netherlands: Supreme court judgment in late December (Wiko case) Germany: 3rd FRAND ruling of Federal Court of Justice in Wiko case, but Federal Court of Justice revoked EP 647 in late November
Background for Q&A The second UPC complaint in Germany German Constitutional Court dismissed the second complaint Germany ratified the UPC agreement, which cleared the way for the UPC 13 countries ratified the PAP; preparations will start soon UPC start in late 2022 with experienced patent judges is likely => The UPC has the potential to become the gamechanger in SEP/FRAND law => Coexistence of the UPC and the London patent courts
Also important Important deals April: Nokia and Lenovo settle global dispute May: Ericsson and Samsung agree on global SEP licence June: Daimler agrees on licence with Nokia. Earlier agreements with Sharp and Conversant. July: Volkswagen takes 4G licence from Huawei August: InterDigital and Xiaomi end global dispute August: Sisvel reaches agreements with BLU, ZTE and Samsung. Earlier agreements with Oppo and Xiaomi October: Sharp and Oppo settle their disputes in Germany and China November: Avanci gives licence to Jaguar, LandRover and Astin Martin December: Hisense, the last of important Chinese handset makers, takes licence from MPEG LA pool
Also important Other big battles Sisvel/Mitsubishi against Xiaomi, Oppo, Wiko, BKK over 3G and 4G; UK, NL, DE, IT (mostly settled) VoiceAge against HMD, Apple, Xiaomi over speech coding. 27 claims in DE. Lenovo, TCL settled Access Advance against Vestel over video coding (global FRAND detemination); UK, DE Optis against Apple over 3G and 4G; UK IP Bridge sues Ford over at least one SEP; DE IPCom against Vodafone, UK High Court, "crown jewel case" IPCom against Xiaomi and Lenovo; UK, DE Intellectual Ventures against Vodafone, Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom, Bouygues T l com, Orange, SFR plus various handset makers over LTE, DSL and WCDMA; FR, DE
