Unwired Planet International Ltd v Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd & Anor [2017] EWHC 3083 (Pat) (30 November 2017)

Unwired Planet International Ltd v Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd & Anor [2017] EWHC 3083 (Pat) (30 November 2017)

The court held that, subject to certain exceptions, the commercial licensing information sought to be redacted would, if published, materially weaken the competitive position of the relevant party, particularly licensors, and that this constituted a sufficiently powerful reason to justify redaction. The public can understand the judge's reasoning without the specific figures, and the interference with the competitive position of the telecommunications market by publication is unwarranted.

Citation
[2017] EWHC 3083 (Pat)
Parties
Claimant: Unwired Planet International Ltd; Defendant: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd; Defendant: Huawei Technologies (UK) Co. Ltd; Tenth Party: Unwired Planet LLC; Eleventh Party: Telefonaktiebolaget Ericsson
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
30 November 2017
Procedural Posture
Patent/competition Law / Post Trial Judgment on Confidentiality/redactions
Outcome
Redactions to the judgment largely allowed, with specific exceptions as detailed; public version of the judgment to be issued with approved redactions.
Legal Topics
Confidentiality of Judgments, Redaction of Commercial Information, FRAND Licensing, Open Justice, Patent Licensing, Competition Law and Commercial Sensitivity
Intellectual Property Competition Law Civil Procedure Confidentiality of Judgments Redaction of Commercial Information FRAND Licensing Open Justice Patent Licensing +1 more

Case Brief

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Parties

Unwired Planet International Ltd

Claimant

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd

Defendant

Huawei Technologies (UK) Co. Ltd

Defendant

Unwired Planet LLC

Tenth Party

Telefonaktiebolaget Ericsson

Eleventh Party

Procedural Posture

Patent/competition Law / Post Trial Judgment on Confidentiality/redactions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether commercial licensing information in the judgment should be redacted from the public version
  2. 2 What principles govern redaction of judgments in patent and competition law cases
  3. 3 Whether the public interest in open justice outweighs the parties' interests in confidentiality of licensing terms

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that, subject to certain exceptions, the commercial licensing information sought to be redacted would, if published, materially weaken the competitive position of the relevant party, particularly licensors, and that this constituted a sufficiently powerful reason to justify redaction. The public can understand the judge's reasoning without the specific figures, and the interference with the competitive position of the telecommunications market by publication is unwarranted.

Court Disposition

Redactions to the judgment largely allowed, with specific exceptions as detailed; public version of the judgment to be issued with approved redactions.

Orders

  • Redactions to commercial licensing information in the judgment approved except for specified paragraphs where redactions were refused or limited.
  • Draft final form of redacted public main judgment to be checked by parties before formal hand-down.