UK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Nicola Dagg, Jin Ooi, Ray Cheng and Nevyn Fournel, Kirkland & Ellis
2024 UK Patent Litigation The UK patent litigation market has remained active in 2024. A variety of patent cases have been heard, and judgments have been delivered in a typically broad range of sectors, including the SEP/FRAND, life sciences, pharma, and medi- cal device sectors. These cases have resulted in a range of important legal and practice-related trends and developments. 2024 has also been a year of adjustment at the UPC as its proce- dural and substantive jurisprudence continues to develop. A substantial pipeline of patent trials is set to keep the Court and legal community occupied throughout 2025 and beyond. The English Courts continue to innovate, positioning the UK as a key jurisdiction in the global and European markets. In fact, most of the decisions discussed in this article were part of multi-jurisdictional disputes where UK litigation played a critical role in the overall strategy. By providing accessible, trans- parent, and well-reasoned decisions on complex and technical intellectual property issues and by demonstrating a willingness to understand and engage with the intricate economics underly- ing many of these cases, the English Courts will maintain the UK’s status as a leading jurisdic- tion. This will enable them to play a significant and strategic role in multinational disputes. Below, you will find some notable themes and developments in the case law. SEP/FRAND Litigation Following the second and third-ever global FRAND rate-setting decisions in the UK last year in InterDigital v Lenovo and Optis v Apple , 2024 has proven to be another bumper year for SEP/ FRAND litigation in the UK. This year, embold- ened by these rate-setting decisions and with full confidence in the pedigree of UK Courts, it has largely been the implementers leading the
charge. UK Courts have demonstrated a willing- ness to devise novel case management mecha- nisms such as interim licences to preserve the integrity of the FRAND process ( Panasonic v Xiaomi ) and accept jurisdiction in novel cases ( Lenovo v InterDigital ). In doing so, they have solidified their status as world leaders in case- managing FRAND litigation and reaffirmed their unique role in resolving global FRAND disputes. At the same time, this year, several major UK FRAND cases were settled. This includes Nokia and OPPO, who signed a global cross-licence agreement after litigating before the UK Courts for 3 years. Likewise, Panasonic, Xiaomi and OPPO put an end to their UK proceedings, but only after the Court of Appeal issued a ground- breaking decision granting Xiaomi the first ever “interim” FRAND licence in Panasonic v Xiaomi [2024] EWCA Civ 1143 . And then, shortly before a rate-setting judgment was expected, InterDigi- tal and OPPO also agreed to settle their dispute. 2025 promises to be another busy year for SEP/ FRAND litigation, with FRAND trials scheduled for cases including Lenovo v Ericsson and Alca - tel/Nokia v Amazon and other cases such as MediaTek v Huawei and Lenovo v ZTE pending. A new frontier has also emerged in the form of patent licensing “pools” – the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction decision on this in Tesla v InterDigi - tal & Avanci , expected in early 2025, is eagerly anticipated. Another Court of Appeal FRAND rate-setting decision – InterDigital v Lenovo In a key decision on 12 July 2024 ( InterDigital v Lenovo [2024] EWCA Civ 743 ), the Court of Appeal largely upheld a first-instance decision granting a FRAND licence.
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