UK court hands win to Xiaomi; Verizon beats back $847m verdict; InterDigital and Fractus announce licence deals; EU must reject bad faith US narratives; plus much more
Welcome to the latest edition of the Sisvel Insights weekly round-up, aggregating news stories, analyses and data points affecting the SEP world that have caught our eye over the past seven days
The Court of Appeal for England and Wales issued a major decision last week when it found that Xiaomi was entitled to an interim licence for SEPs owned by Panasonic and that the Japanese company had acted as an unwilling licensor. This is a judgment that will have a significant impact well beyond the UK, not only on the specific dispute between the two parties but also more widely.
Elsewhere, in the Eastern District of Texas Judge Rodney Gilstrap ordered a retrial of a case involving alleged infringement of 5G patents which had seen a jury award damages of close to $850 million against Verizon; while Qualcomm announced it had finalised the purchase of 4G IoT Technology from France-based Sequans Communications. On Sisvel Insights, Joff Wild argued that those seeking to import to Europe the bad faith arguments for patent reform that have characterised debate in the US should be called out for doing so.
Please note that inclusion of a piece in the list below does not signify agreement with what is stated in the linked article, just that we believe it is of interest and worth pointing out.
Legal
The Court of Appeal for England and Wales deemed Panasonic an unwilling licensor in its dispute with Xiaomi and set the terms of a FRAND interim licence between the parties. UK Court of Appeal finds Panasonic’s conduct ‘indefensible’ in FRAND dispute with Xiaomi - The Global Legal Post
Lenovo failed to persuade the Court of Appeal for England and Wales that its bid for a conditional interim injunction against Ericsson should have been granted by the High Court. Lenovo’s challenge to Ericsson interim injunction denial rejected by UK Court of Appeal - IAM (iam-media.com)🔒
A Texas judge tossed out an $847 million jury verdict against Verizon and ordered a new trial over the operator’s 5G wireless base stations. Verizon wins bid for new trial after $847 mln wireless patent verdict | Reuters
Market
Fractus signed a licensing agreement with security alarm provider ADT, ending litigation over the company’s antenna technology. Fractus expands IoT patent licensing program signing ADT agreement and ending litigation
Avanci launched a new business unit that will provide customised licensing solutions. Avanci Solutions – innovative approaches for sharing patented technologies - Avanci
InterDigital announced new patent licence agreements with television manufacturer TPV. The deals relate to HEVC and DTV technology. InterDigital - Press Release
Qualcomm completed its acquisition of 4G IoT Technology from France-based Sequans Communications S.A. Qualcomm and Sequans Complete Sale of 4G IoT Technology | Qualcomm
Analysis/Opinion
Sisvel responded to mischaracterisations of its business model amidst a bad-faith effort by interest groups to re-hash the US ‘patent troll’ debate in Europe. Sisvel | Europe must avoid the distortions of the US patent debate
A report on US patent quality found that the rate of erroneous patent issuance is less than half the rate of erroneous patent rejections. Patent Quality Report Finds Improper Patent Abandonment is Greater Issue Than Improper Grants (ipwatchdog.com)
Patent brokers say that companies from the buy-side are increasingly requesting a licence as an alternative to outright acquisition. Warning: Secondary market trend favouring licensing may not benefit patent sellers - IAM (iam-media.com) 🔒
