UK drops FRAND rate determination plan; Qualcomm extends deal with Transsion; Ericsson licensing income surges; ETSI issues EU standards warning; 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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Following a detailed consultation process in which all views and experiences were given full weight, the UK government has shelved controversial proposals that would have seen the introduction of a streamlined FRAND rate determination process at the specialist, first instance IP Enterprise Court. It also stated that it saw no reason to make any changes to the current availability of injunctions in FRAND-related lawsuits. These decisions and other SEP/FRAND-related measures were made public last week in a document issued by the UKIPO.  

As deep-pocketed lobbying organisations make loud calls for further regulation of SEP licensing, it is refreshing to see a major jurisdiction take the time to differentiate between anecdote and evidence, and interesting to observe the results when it does so. It would be nice to think that this way of doing things might catch on. 

Elsewhere, it was a busy week in the patent market, with Qualcomm announcing a major extension of its licensing deal with Transsion and Ericsson revealing a royalties surge in its Q3 earnings report.  On the policy front, meanwhile, ETSI’s chief policy officer warned that plans to give the European Commission greater control of technical standards-setting in Europe, as well as restrictions on foreign participation, could imperil the international appeal of European standards. 

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 

Qualcomm has announced an extension of its 4G and 5G patent licensing agreement with Transsion until 2031. Read more (Qualcomm press release) 

Ericsson has recorded a 24% boost in its Q3 patent licensing revenue, partly because of its litigation settlement with Transsion, according to its most recent quarterly financial report. Read more (IAM) 🔒 

Annual deal flow at defensive patent aggregator RPX has topped $1 billion, new CEO Ryan Elliott has revealed. Read more (IAM) 🔒 

Legal 

Wilus, a licensor in the Sisvel Wi-Fi Multimode programme, has prevailed in four consecutive USPTO re-examination proceedings brought by Unified Patents. Read more (Heath Hoglund LinkedIn post). See also ip fray 🔒 

A consumer watchdog has called on Disney to pay millions of euros to Disney+ users in European markets where features have been curtailed due to patent litigation. Read more (ip fray) 

Ericsson has asked Brazil to close an antitrust probe into its 5G licensing practice, contending that it is part of a holdout strategy pursued by Lenovo. Read more (MLex) 🔒 

Acacia subsidiary Atlas Global Technologies has filed a second lawsuit against Walmart in a Texas federal court alleging infringement of Wi-Fi 6 SEPs. Read more (IAM) 🔒 

Ericsson has filed new video SEP claims against Disney in Brazil. Read more (ip fray) 🔒 

Longhorn IP is the latest SEP owner to target farm equipment Agco with German patent claims. Read more (ip fray) 🔒 

Policy & Opinion 

The UK government has decided not to create a new FRAND determination track within the IP Enterprise Court following a public consultation on SEP issues.  Read more (UKIPO) 

ETSI has warned against the European Commission’s bid for greater control over standards-setting, suggesting that it could weaken the continent’s tech influence. Read more (MLex) 🔒 

Strategy & Analysis 

The secondary patent market saw more but smaller offerings last year and median asking prices were down across the board, according to Richardson Oliver’s latest annual report. Read more (IAM) 🔒 

HDR is evolving from a premium feature to a baseline offering in video streaming, new market research commissioned by InterDigital has found. Read more (InterDigital press release) 

HDMI LA has emerged stronger from last year’s defeat of a US antitrust lawsuit, says Chief Licensing Officer Trudi Bordi. Read more (ip fray)