Lenovo v Ericsson
[2024] EWHC 1734 (Pat)
15 Jul 2024
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The Patents Court has handed down a judgment granting Lenovo an expedited FRAND trial in April 2025 and dismissing Ericsson’s contention that a “technical trial” (dealing with questions of validity and infringement of the Lenovo’s patent) necessarily has to take place before a FRAND trial.
The Judge found that the Court has the power to make a declaration as to FRAND terms without first finding that the Lenovo Patent is valid and infringed (§25). Lenovo is seeking a FRAND injunction in respect of an alleged infringement of a Standard Essential Patent, as well as a free-standing contractual claim for FRAND declarations arising out of Ericsson’s FRAND Commitment in relation to its patents.
The Judge (Richards J) noted that there is precedent for an implementer bringing proceedings asserting that a patentee has an obligation to offer a FRAND licence and requesting the English court to exercise its discretion to make a declaration as to the terms of that licence (§23).
The Court granted Lenovo’s expedition application in circumstances where there was a “suggestion of hold-up” in Ericsson’s pursuit of injunctive relief in Lenovo’s important markets (§43) and in light of the fact that “the sooner the parties focus on the core issue between them, the terms of a global FRAND cross-licence, the better” (§45).
The Judgment can be found here.
James Segan KC, Ravi Mehta and Femi Adekoya appeared for Lenovo.
