The UK Supreme Court ruled in favour of two patent holding companies, dismissing appeals by ZTE and Huawei related to a long-running saga over global licences for protected mobile technologies.
Huawei and ZTE had appealed the outcome of lawsuits heard together in October 2019, which saw them lose out to Unwired Planet and Conversant Wireless respectively.
The row was been years in the making and concerned whether companies were required to take out global patent licences rather than on a market-by-market basis, along with which authorities could pass judgement on international validity.
EIP, the legal company representing Unwired Planet and Conversant Wireless, stated the ruling would “enable standard-essential patent holders to insist that implementers, like Huawei, take out global licences covering all of their portfolios.”
Previously Huawei argued a decision by a UK court should not be valid internationally.
EIP added the immediate effect would be Huawei would need to acquire a licence from Unwired Planet or risk an injunction, which would restrain its activities in the UK.
Rows between manufacturers and companies holding patents have been going on for years, with Apple recently slamming companies s accumulating IP to pursue legal action after losing a US case against Unwired Planet and its affiliates.
