On March 15, Germany's Karlsruhe High District Court rejected an appeal by Chinese handset maker TCL Communication Technology Holding Ltd. (TCT). TCT's appeal is about a 2020 ruling by the District Court of Mannheim, Germany, which requires TCT to provide information and compensation to Japanese patent licensing company IP Bridge.
In 2016, IP Bridge sued TCT and hTC Corporation, another Taiwanese handset maker, in Mannheim District Court for infringement of two of its patents. With about 3,500 patents, IP Bridge is a Japanese state-owned patent pool that also grants its patents to the Avanci patent pool. It was established in 2009 by the Japan Industrial Innovation Investment Agency (INCJ). The two infringed patents are EP 2178232 and EP 2294737, both related to the wireless communication standard "Long Term Evolution" (LTE). Patent EP '737 has the name "Control Channel Signaling for Triggering Independent Transmission of Channel Quality Indicators". The patent has been declared a necessary patent for the 4G/LTE standard. Panasonic Corporation of Japan was the original applicant for this patent, which was later transferred to IP Bridge. In the past, all ip bridge lawsuits against the patent have been filed in Munich, Germany, including its infringement lawsuits against three automakers, Ford, Daimler and Volkswagen.
In January, in a separate case involving the two patents, the German Federal Supreme Court upheld their validity. Last June, germany's Supreme Court upheld the validity of another IP Bridge patent, the EP 0991054, in another case. The patent is related to the standard for the "Universal Mobile Telecommunications System" (UMTS) technology.
With these three rulings, it will be possible for the German Supreme Court to rule better in the next case involving SEP and FRAND issues.
In February, the Karlsruhe High District Court ordered TCT to enforce the injunction and provide information as well as pay compensation. TCT appealed shortly after. The case involves important FRAND issues, which will depend on the decision of the German Federal Patent Court (Case No.: X ZR 21/22). TCT also appealed the ruling infringing IP Bridge's EP '054 patent. The patent has now expired.
Ultimately, the German Supreme Court needs to decide the question of whether the SEP holder has practiced the FRAND principle when the holder of a standard essential patent (SEP) makes an offer that is frand for the general implementer but not for the participants in a market segment. In addition, the Supreme People's Court also needs to clarify whether the calculation method of authorized royalties can be changed. Currently, common licensing royalty quotes are made for each device. However, if the implementer asks the court to rule on FRAND's compliance issues, the court must do so. At present, the Supreme People's Court has not yet set a date for the oral hearing.
HTC has appealed the injunction to the German Federal Patent Court. In November 2020, the Karlsruhe High District Court found that HTC infringed the EP '737 patent (case number: X ZR 123/20). The Supreme People's Court has not yet set a date for trial. Since both the TCT and HTC lawsuits involve the EP '737 patent, it is likely that the Supreme Court will hold a joint hearing on them. The 10th Civil Collegial Panel will hear both cases as they both involve SEP and FRAND issues.
By trial 2020 and 2021 Sisvel v. Haier) case, the collegial panel developed the current German FRAND case law guidelines. The parties also eagerly awaited the ruling on a dispute between Philips and Wiko over another SEP (Patent EP 1815647). However, in December 2021, the Supreme Court declared Philips' patent EP '647 invalid. Since then, the collegial panel has not ruled on any cases involving FRAND issues.
The Supreme Court's decision is important for all mobile phones and automakers. It is reported that IP Bridge has also filed a lawsuit against the EP '737 patent against Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Oppo and American automaker Ford. In addition, IP Bridge is taking action against Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi in Germany. Recently, IP Bridge just settled with Apple, Tesla, Daimler and Volkswagen in lawsuits against them.
The series of lawsuits currently underway at IP Bridge is one of the largest in the history of Europe. As a result, IP Bridge has assigned cases in Germany to a joint team of attorneys and patent attorneys from different law firms.
(Source: Internet Synthesis, Intellectual Property Rights)
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