Unwired Planet: The UK’s approach to FRAND

Abstract

Since Mr Justice Birss handed down his 163-page judgment in the first instance decision in Unwired Planet,1 there has been a steady stream of FRAND proceedings being issued in the courts of England and Wales. Quite a number of judgments have now been handed down on a wide range of aspects of FRAND law, particularly on the issue of jurisdiction. However, to date, the only substantive UK FRAND judgment has been in Unwired Planet and UK FRAND practitioners have been eagerly awaiting the judgment of the Supreme Court in that case. The hearing took place in October 2019 and, on 26 August 2020, just under a year later, the Supreme Court finally handed down its judgment,2 upholding the decisions of the High Court and Court of Appeal.3 Before getting into the detail of the Unwired Planet appeal (and the appeal from Conversant v Huawei which was...