Category: Alternative Dispute Resolution
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WIPO report endorses complementary use of FRAND valuation methodologies
WIPO’s new report on FRAND valuation rejects a one-size-fits-all approach to SEP licensing disputes. Instead, it argues that comparable-license, bottom-up, and top-down methodologies should be viewed as complementary tools for assessing whether licensing terms are fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory.
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BREAKING: InterDigital and Amazon will determine video patent licensing terms through arbitration
The parties have agreed to withdraw all infringement and (F)RAND litigation in favor of binding arbitration.
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UPC grants Samsung two-week extension to comment on court’s proposal for settlement with ZTE, Samsung risks unwillingness finding
Samsung’s request for an extension of time by a full month appeared unreasonable (if not outrageous) to the UPC’s Mannheim LD.
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Latest amendment to Tokyo District Court’s SEP rules: global license requirement compared to latest UPC, UK, German, Brazilian approaches
The Tokyo court’s SEPJM approach is not what WIPO- pr PMAC-style mediation. But in ZTE v. Samsung, Western courts proposed settlement terms. Read our comparative analysis (premium) and general comments on reasonable discourse (free).
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UK appeals court permanently stays Acer, ASUS FRAND cases against Nokia: arbitration acceptable; no more FRAND trial
The Court of Appeal of England & Wales has largely overruled a decision by the High Court of Justice and stayed the proceedings. The two computer makers overplayed their hand.
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UPC proposes terms for ZTE-Samsung cross-license: $640M for 5 years, $730M for 6; consistent with Chongqing, Munich; otherwise PMAC mediation
The Unified Patent Court’s Mannheim Local Division makes two settlement proposals with different contract terms and alternatively suggests mediation by the UPC’s Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre.
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Ericsson wants “problem-solving, not posturing”: arbitration offer as safe harbor against “court-manufactured” interim licenses
Ericsson is a major SEP holder, but also licenses other companies’ patents for its network infrastructure products. Is head of patent assertions advocates a balanced, symmetrical approach where arbitration remains voluntary but its rejection precludes interim licenses.
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English appeals court presses Acer, ASUS on refusal to arbitrate Nokia licensing terms; UPC’s PMAC mentioned as one option
Computer makers Acer and ASUS have a credibility problem with respect to their willingness to take a FRAND license. Nokia’s only problem is the state of English SEP case law.
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InterDigital faces challenges from Dolby (to patent asserted against Disney) and Samsung (to $1 billion arbitration award)
Dolby has filed a petition for inter partes review of a patent that InterDigital asserted in a global infringement case against Disney in the United States District Court for the Central District of California last year. Meanwhile Samsung has challenged a $1 billion arbitration award it received last July as part of their mobile device…
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Tokyo District Court publishes SEP mediation guidelines: fundamentally incompatible with Western legal culture
In the Western hemisphere, mediation is shielded from litigation. The Tokyo District Court, however, has a different approach.