Lenovo should pay $138.7 million for InterDigital patents – London courtroom

InterDigital introduced the lawsuit towards Lenovo in 2019 over the phrases on which Lenovo ought to take a licence of its patents that are important to 3G, 4G and 5G requirements.

The litigation, which has up to now featured 5 separate trials, centres on the honest, cheap and non-discriminatory (FRAND) phrases of a licence for InterDigital’s patents.

Decide James Mellor mentioned in a written ruling on Thursday that earlier gives made by each Lenovo and InterDigital – which had provided $337 million for a six-year licence – weren’t made on FRAND phrases.

He mentioned Lenovo ought to pay a $138.7 million “lump sum” to cowl previous and future gross sales of cell gadgets from 2007 till the tip of 2023.

Lenovo described the ruling as “a significant win for the know-how trade and the shoppers we serve”.

John Mulgrew, Lenovo’s chief mental property officer, mentioned in an announcement the choice “reinforces FRAND’s vital function in facilitating clear and equitable licensing practices for standardized applied sciences”.

InterDigital’s Chief Authorized Officer Josh Schmidt welcomed what he mentioned was the ruling’s recognition that “a licensee ought to pay in full for the previous infringement of normal important patents”.

Nevertheless, he mentioned in an announcement: “We plan to attraction, as we imagine that sure facets of the choice don’t precisely replicate our licensing program.”

London-based patent lawyer Mark Marfe, who was not concerned within the case, mentioned the choice bolstered the Excessive Courtroom’s willingness to grant a world FRAND licence.

China is the one different jurisdiction the place courts have set world FRAND charges for so-called customary important patents.

Marfe added that “all eyes will likely be on the Unified Patent Courtroom”, a typical patent courtroom for European Union member states which opens in June, to see whether or not it takes an analogous method