Introducing Sisvel Ventures; UK pool rate-setting trial expedited; Ericsson sues POS maker; the AI challenge for patent issuers; 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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Last week, Sisvel welcomed its latest senior hire and announced the creation of new business unit Sisvel Ventures. 

Stavros Kyris has joined us after serving in a series of C-suite positions with Nokia Technologies. He will lead a new Sisvel team charged with identifying and developing IP-based business projects outside our core patent pool operations. Sisvel executives Matteo Sabattini and Leonardo Saroni will join Kyris in building the new unit.  

Sisvel president and CEO Mattia Fogliacco said that the exceptionally strong team behind Sisvel Ventures will allow the company to exploit opportunities that it previously could not. "Crucially," he added, "it has been designed to operate in areas that are not covered by the pools business, which will always be the mainstay of our long-term strategy." 

News also emerged that a UK rate-setting action targeting the Access Advance Video Distribution Patent Pool (VDP) has been expedited. Facing infringement suits from Dolby and other VDP participants, social media platform Snap will ask the High Court to determine the appropriate scope and value of the pool offering, which it contends is not RAND. The trial is set to commence on 1 November 2027. 

Elsewhere, Ericsson filed litigation against POS maker PAX Technology spanning Brazil, Colombia and the UPC; and for Sisvel Insights, Head of Portfolio Management Sharaz Gill wrestles with some of the burning questions AI has created for patent offices and multilateral IP institutions. 

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 hired former Nokia Technologies executive Stavros Kyris to lead Sisvel Ventures, a new unit that will explore opportunities outside the core pool space. Read more (Sisvel newsroom). See also IAM 🔒 

InterDigital and Dell have entered into binding arbitration to set the terms of a patent licensing agreement. Read more (InterDigital earnings release). See also IAM 🔒 

Legal 

Justice Mellor of the English High Court has expedited Snap’s RAND action against Access Advance and Dolby and agreed that the trial should cover the value and scope of the VDP programme. Read more (IAM)🔒. See also MLex🔒 

China-based POS device maker PAX has been sued by Ericsson in the UPC, Brazil and Colombia. Read more (ip fray). See also IAM 🔒 

Courts in Brazil have hit TCL and Hisense with preliminary injunctions over their alleged infringement of InterDigital HEVC patents. Read more (ip fray) 

Policy & Opinion 

The UK government must not weaken patent rights underpinning global standards, barrister and House of Lords member Alex Carlile has written. Read more (The Times) 🔒 

According to German judge Oliver Schoen, European automakers should stop lobbying for weakened patent protections. Read more (IAM) 🔒 

Expect a greater focus on ‘royalty stacking’ as cross-licensing declines, patents proliferate and products incorporate more standards. Read more (IAM) 🔒 

Strategy & Analysis 

AI could create financial, jurisdictional and legal challenges for large patent-granting organisations as well as bodies such as WIPO, writes Sisvel head of portfolio management Sharaz Gill. Read more (Sisvel Insights) 

Closing a licensing deal depends on both sides' value perceptions, capabilities and willingness to listen, suggests Xiaomi licensing executive Cheng Yu. Read more (ip fray)