Unwired Planet International Ltd v Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd & Ors

Unwired Planet International Ltd v Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd & Ors

The court refused Huawei's application for summary judgment and strike out, finding Unwired Planet has a real prospect of defending its FRAND compliance assertions. The construction of ETSI IPR Policy and FRAND obligations cannot be decided summarily due to factual disputes and the necessity to consider competition law context. The court allowed Unwired Planet to amend its claim to seek a declaration regarding FRAND compliance, subject to conditions requiring both parties to state their proposed licence terms for the patents in suit.

Parties
Claimant: Unwired Planet International Limited; First Defendant: Huawei Technologies Co. Limited; Second Defendant: Huawei Technologies (UK) Co. Limited; Third Defendant: Samsung Electronics Co. Limited; Fourth Defendant: Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited; Fifth Defendant: Google Inc.; Sixth Defendant: Google Ireland Limited; Seventh Defendant: Google Commerce Limited; Ninth Party: Unwired Planet Inc.; Tenth Party: Unwired Planet LLC; Eleventh Party: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
24 April 2015
Procedural Posture
Patent Infringement and Competition Law / Interlocutory Judgment on Summary Judgment, Strike Out, and Amendment Applications
Outcome
Huawei's application for summary judgment and strike out refused; Unwired Planet's application to amend claim to seek declaration allowed with conditions.
Legal Topics
FRAND Licensing, Standard Essential Patents, Patent Infringement, ETSI IPR Policy, Injunctions, Portfolio Licensing, Summary Judgment, Strike Out Applications
Intellectual Property Competition Law Contract Law FRAND Licensing Standard Essential Patents Patent Infringement ETSI IPR Policy Injunctions +3 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Unwired Planet International Limited

Claimant

Huawei Technologies Co. Limited

First Defendant

Huawei Technologies (UK) Co. Limited

Second Defendant

Samsung Electronics Co. Limited

Third Defendant

Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited

Fourth Defendant

Google Inc.

Fifth Defendant

Google Ireland Limited

Sixth Defendant

Google Commerce Limited

Seventh Defendant

Unwired Planet Inc.

Ninth Party

Unwired Planet LLC

Tenth Party

Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson

Eleventh Party

Procedural Posture

Patent Infringement and Competition Law / Interlocutory Judgment on Summary Judgment, Strike Out, and Amendment Applications

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether Unwired Planet's April and July 2014 licensing proposals are compliant with FRAND obligations under ETSI IPR Policy
  2. 2 Whether summary judgment or strike out is appropriate regarding FRAND compliance
  3. 3 Whether Unwired Planet is obliged to offer single patent, standard-specific, or territory-specific licences under ETSI IPR Policy

Ratio Decidendi

The court refused Huawei's application for summary judgment and strike out, finding Unwired Planet has a real prospect of defending its FRAND compliance assertions. The construction of ETSI IPR Policy and FRAND obligations cannot be decided summarily due to factual disputes and the necessity to consider competition law context. The court allowed Unwired Planet to amend its claim to seek a declaration regarding FRAND compliance, subject to conditions requiring both parties to state their proposed licence terms for the patents in suit.

Court Disposition

Huawei's application for summary judgment and strike out refused; Unwired Planet's application to amend claim to seek declaration allowed with conditions.

Orders

  • Unwired Planet's application to amend claim to include declaration regarding FRAND compliance allowed, subject to condition that claimant and defendants state their proposed licence terms for the five patents in suit.
  • Huawei's application for summary judgment and strike out of FRAND compliance assertions refused.