Major win for ZTE as U.S. federal judge throws out Samsung’s FRAND contract/antitrust action

Context: Samsung brought FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing) claims against ZTE in multiple jurisdictions plus lodged a complaint with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). A UK FRAND trial is presently underway. Almost three months back, Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held a motion-to-dismiss hearing, which ip fray followed via the live stream (November 7, 2025 ip fray article). The judge’s skepticism of Samsung’s case was visible, and Samsung’s counsel was being rather defensive.

What’s new: Judge Martínez-Olguín has just handed down her (sealed) order granting ZTE’s motion to dismiss:

Direct impact: The docket entry does not indicate explicitly that it is a dismissal with prejudice, but U.S. judges sometimes indicate it very clearly when a dismissal comes without prejudice. Either way, it is a major setback for Samsung. In the meantime, a Chinese FRAND determination could be handed down any moment (December 15, 2025 ip fray article).

Wider ramifications: The global standard-essential patent (SEP) enforcement game is increasingly complex. Just today it became known that Ericsson has decided to boldly sue where no one has asserted SEPs before (the allusion to Star Trek is intended), adding a host of additional countries to the global SEP enforcement map, and the Munich I Regional Court released its latest FRAND guidance. Unlike the courts in some other jurisdictions, U.S. courts are generally not interested in being used as tools in SEP licensing negotiations. They will adjudicate infringement actions, but only over U.S. patents.