Context: The antisuit dispute between research and licensing firm InterDigital and retail and streaming giant Amazon is now at the appellate stage in the relevant jurisdictions (January 7, 2026 ip fray article). Unified Patent Court (UPC) President Dr. Klaus Grabinski denied, in his capacity as Standing Judge, Amazon’s motion for a stay of the Mannheim Local Division (LD) injunction pending the appellate proceedings (January 6, 2026 ip fray article). Amazon may already be in breach of an injunction that comes with an initial penalty of up to âŹ50M (December 25, 2025 ip fray article).
What’s new: Yesterday (February 2, 2026), two important developments happened in connection with the InterDigital v. Amazon dispute:
- The European Commission’s (EC) Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security (DG TRADE) sent a letter to the Mannheim LD’s Presiding Judge Prof. Peter Tochtermann thanking him for the information he shared concerning “the developments related to the UK courts and the UPC” and encouraging him to share further information as the situation unfolds.
- The UPC’s Court of Appeal (CoA) has scheduled the Luxembourg hearing of Amazon’s appeal for May 28, 2026.
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Panels and counsel
CoA
Presiding Judge Ulrike Voss (“VoĂ” in German) was recently sworn in as the Presiding Judge of the CoA’s new Panel 3. But for this case she is joined by President Dr. Grabinski’s trusted sidekicks Judge-rapporteur Prof. Peter Blok and Judge Emmanuel GougĂ© (Panel 1). Presiding Judge Voss is famous in the SEP context for her referral of Huawei v. ZTE to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) while she was presiding over one of the divisions of the Dusseldorf Regional Court. For the Munich LD, she granted Nokia an anti-antisuit injunction against SUNMI (February 20, 2025 ip fray article).
Mannheim LD panel
Presiding Judge (and here, judge-rapporteur) Prof. Peter Tochtermann, Judge Dirk Boettcher (âBöttcherâ in German), and Judge AndrĂĄs Kupecz (CD Munich). Judge Prof. Tochtermann has so far masterfully managed this delicate matter, and the tone and content of the EC’s letter vindicate his notice to Brussels.
Counsel for InterDigital
Counsel for InterDigital: Arnold Ruessâs Cordula Schumacher (also lead counsel on appeal), Dr. Lisa Rieth, Tim Smentkowski, Julija Kravtsova, and Dr. Marina Wehler. From the UK, Bird & Birdâs Mark Livsey attended the Mannheim LD hearing in person. U.S. attorney Richard Kamprath of McKool Smith was also among the remote attendees. In-house litigation counsel Steven Akerley attended in person, and several other InterDigital lawyers and executives followed the video stream.
Counsel for Amazon
- In person at the Mannheim hearing: Hoyng Rokh Monegierâs Klaus Haft, Sven Krause, Roeland Grijpink, Dr. LĂ©on Dijkman, Moritz Lohr, Dr. Nico Schur, and Antonia Wilhelm; as well as (from the UK) Hogan Lovellsâs Paul Brown.
- By video: Hoyng Rokh Monegierâs Kay Kasper; Hogan Lovells UKâs Will Buswell and Ian Moss; Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hamptonâs Martin Bader and Stephen Korniczky; and Amazon VP IP Scott Hayden and Associate General Counsel IP Marc Ascolese.