Munich court issues $640 million FRAND rate decision; Sisvel POS keeps growing; Nokia scores Brazil win; USTR weighs in on SEP issues; plus much more
Welcome to the latest edition of the Sisvel Insights weekly round-up, aggregating news stories, analyses and data points affecting the SEP world that have caught our eye over the past seven days.
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First it was London, then Chongqing; now the Munich Regional Court has had its say on a FRAND royalty rate in the multi-jurisdictional SEP licensing dispute between ZTE and Samsung. Coming in at $640 million in favour of ZTE for a five-year period to balance out a cross-licensing deal between the two companies, the German decision is much closer to the Chinese finding than the ruling handed down by Justice Meade in the High Court of England and Wales at the end of April. In fact, on a like-for-like, six-year basis, the Munich number is probably even higher than that reached in Chongqing. So, it’s the UK $392 million that’s looking very much like the outlier – and not in a positive way if you are an SEP licensor. That is likely to be noticed, with one key caveat: all three judgments are subject to appeal – if there is no settlement.
Elsewhere, Sisvel confirmed that five new licensors have made their patents available through its new Point of Sale (POS) pool, as the deadline for taking advantage of early joiner incentives approaches. There was news too of a positive Brazilian appeal court decision for Nokia in its dispute with ASUS; and the latest USTR Special 301 Report has criticised several jurisdictions for their treatment of US SEP owners’ interests.
Please note that the inclusion of a piece in the list below does not signify agreement with what is stated in the linked article – just that we believe it is of interest and worth flagging.
Market
Sisvel has announced five new licensors in its POS patent pool: Alfred Consulting, Datang Mobile, KPN, NEC and Wilus. Read more (Sisvel newsroom and Sisvel LinkedIn). See also MLex🔒and ReTHINK Research 🔒
Huawei and TP-Link have withdrawn a Wi-Fi related infringement case at the UPC as the pair’s ongoing FRAND dispute plays out before the English court under an interim licence. Read more (PRIP Research)
Access Advance CEO Peter Moller has characterised 2025 as a year of “litigation success” for the pool administrator’s HEVC and VVC programmes. Read more (IAM)
A Spanish startup that makes NB-IoT powered emergency beacons has become the first beneficiary of Sisvel’s SME fund for Cellular IoT pool licensees. Read more (Sisvel Insights)
Legal
The Munich I Regional Court has become the latest to weigh in on FRAND terms for a ZTE-Samsung licence, proposing a $640 million sum for a five-year deal. Read more (ip fray). See also MLex 🔒
A redacted copy of the Chinese FRAND ruling that was issued in the ZTE-Samsung dispute last week has been published. Read more (PRIP Research). See also ip fray
An appellate court in Brazil has upheld an injunction secured by Nokia against ASUS over AVC SEPs. Read more (ip fray)
The Delhi High Court has ordered Xiaomi to make a $28.7 million deposit in a SEP case brought by Malikie Innovations. Read more (ip fray) 🔒
Huawei has sued European broadcasting conglomerate RTL Group at the UPC over a video streaming-related patent. Read more (ip fray). See also IAM 🔒
Policy & Opinion
Industry groups have welcomed the mention of SEP issues in the latest Special 301 Report, but the USTR has taken a much lighter touch than other agencies. Read more (IAM). See also MLex🔒
Unless certain steps are taken, the UPC risks not being what it was intended to be: a truly European patent court. Read more (Kluwer Patent Blog)
Strategy & Analysis
A close reading of the English High Court’s ruling in ZTE v Samsung offers useful guidance on the rate-setting approach of Mr Justice Meade. Read more (IAM) 🔒
There are several reasons why Nokia and Ericsson do not charge licensing royalties to mobile network operators. Read more (IAM) 🔒
