Samsung Electronics, a South Korean company, won a lawsuit in London’s High Court on Wednesday (June 25), where a judge ruled in favor of the company’s request to grant temporary permission to use the patents of Chinese company ZTE. The dispute between these two companies over mobile phone patent licensing has caused controversies globally, and this ruling on Wednesday marks progress in resolving such disputes in the UK.
In similar cases, UK courts have recently allowed parties to seek short-term patent licenses during litigation, including disputes involving Amazon and Nokia, as well as Lenovo Group of China and Ericsson of Sweden, both of which ultimately ended in settlements.
However, Wednesday’s ruling represents the first time in the UK that a court of first instance has granted such temporary permission. The High Court of Justice in London is both a court of first instance and has jurisdiction for appeals.
Disputes arising from Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) terms for patent licensing often lead to legal battles among competitors in the telecommunications industry on a global scale.
According to a landmark ruling by the UK Supreme Court in 2020, UK courts can set global non-discriminatory terms, and Chinese courts can do the same.
Samsung Electronics filed a lawsuit against ZTE in London in December 2024, seeking a court ruling on non-discriminatory terms, while ZTE filed parallel lawsuits against Samsung in China, Germany, and Brazil.
In the London case, Samsung asked the court to declare that ZTE, as the willing licensing party, agrees to grant Samsung a temporary license pending a decision on non-discriminatory terms.
Both Samsung and ZTE submitted temporary license proposals, with ZTE’s proposal seeking to adhere to non-discriminatory terms as ruled by the Chinese court.
However, the High Court of Justice in London ruled in favor of Samsung on Wednesday, with Judge James Mellor stating, “ZTE has brought a series of unnecessary injunction lawsuits, its behavior is malicious.”
The judge also pointed out that ZTE’s terms were designed to render Samsung’s lawsuit in London meaningless, resulting in Samsung having to effectively abandon the case and accept the ruling of the court in Chongqing, China, on the lawsuit against ZTE.
(This article was adapted from a report by Reuters)