UK Courts’ Determination of Global FRAND Rates: There Is a Will but Is There a Way? UKSC Judgment in Unwired Planet v Huawei, Huawei v Conversant, and ZTE v Conversant

Abstract

On 26 of August 2020, the United Kingdom Supreme Court (UKSC) published its judgment1 on the cases Unwired Planet v Huawei, Huawei v Conversant and ZTE v Conversant2 in a single decision on the appeal of two decisions3 corresponding to two (three) cases related to Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), namely Unwired Planet v Huawei4 and Huawei and ZTE v Conversant.5 The decision – which upheld both decisions from the Civil Division, dismissing all five grounds of appeal – is the first chance that the UKSC has had to deal with key aspects of SEP litigation, notably with regards to the reach of the FRAND commitment included within the ETSI IPR Policy6 and to jurisdictional aspects. The judgment substantially confirms the decisions of the lower courts and stresses the willingness and the aptitude of UK courts to establish themselves as an appropriate...