Interdigital Technology Corporation & Ors v Lenovo Group Limited & Ors

Interdigital Technology Corporation & Ors v Lenovo Group Limited & Ors

Retrospective permission is granted because the proceedings are closely related, no substantive prejudice is caused, the breaches were inadvertent, and the information would inevitably be disclosed in the second proceedings. The court marks the seriousness of the breaches by ordering Lenovo to pay costs on an indemnity basis.

Parties
Claimant: InterDigital Technology Corporation; Claimant: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc.; Claimant: InterDigital, Inc.; Claimant: InterDigital Holdings, Inc.; Defendant: Lenovo Group Limited; Defendant: Lenovo (United States) Inc.; Defendant: Lenovo Technology (United Kingdom) Limited; Defendant: Motorola Mobility LLC; Defendant: Motorola Mobility UK Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
28 March 2024
Procedural Posture
Application / Ruling on Retrospective Permission to Use Confidential Documents
Outcome
Application allowed with conditions
Legal Topics
Confidentiality Protocols, Use of Disclosed Documents, FRAND Licensing, Retrospective Permission, Costs Orders
Civil Procedure Intellectual Property Confidentiality Protocols Use of Disclosed Documents FRAND Licensing Retrospective Permission Costs Orders

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Parties

InterDigital Technology Corporation

Claimant

InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc.

Claimant

InterDigital, Inc.

Claimant

InterDigital Holdings, Inc.

Claimant

Lenovo Group Limited

Defendant

Lenovo (United States) Inc.

Defendant

Lenovo Technology (United Kingdom) Limited

Defendant

Motorola Mobility LLC

Defendant

Motorola Mobility UK Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Application / Ruling on Retrospective Permission to Use Confidential Documents

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether retrospective permission should be granted to Lenovo to use confidential documents disclosed in prior proceedings for the purposes of a second set of proceedings
  2. 2 Whether breaches of CPR 31.22 and confidentiality protocol warrant denial of permission
  3. 3 Appropriate costs consequences for breaches

Ratio Decidendi

Retrospective permission is granted because the proceedings are closely related, no substantive prejudice is caused, the breaches were inadvertent, and the information would inevitably be disclosed in the second proceedings. The court marks the seriousness of the breaches by ordering Lenovo to pay costs on an indemnity basis.

Court Disposition

Application allowed with conditions

Orders

  • Retrospective permission granted for limited use of confidential information in formulating and pleading the claim and making arguments in the jurisdiction challenge.
  • Lenovo to bear its own costs and InterDigital's costs of the application, the latter on the indemnity basis.