SEPs and War in the Courts: How Anti-Suit Injunctions and Interim Licenses Influenced Global Litigation in 2025

"[There is a] structural tension between patent territoriality and the reality of technologies that operate on a global scale. What has changed in 2025 is the willingness of certain courts to resolve this tension unilaterally, arrogating jurisdiction to set global royalties for SEPs. Global litigation over standard essential patents is facing new strategies by implementers, mainly related to venue selection."

"This behavior by implementers is consistent with what can be seen in negotiations that take place prior to the filing of a lawsuit. The actual experience of litigating essential and non-essential patents for more than a decade shows that implementers rarely bring evidence of patent "hold up". Innovators, meanwhile, suffer irreparable harm due to the inability to keep investing in new cycles of innovation and also irreparable damage to their licensing programs whenever any company is competing with licensees without a license."

"The fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) commitment is often misrepresented as an automatic license, or even as a "royalty-free" license, that is an obstacle for any type of interim relief. Implementers claim that offers are abusive, but seldom present arguments, let alone evidence, about the alleged abuse. It is convenient for big companies to just wait for a lawsuit to play out while continuing to use the technologies without paying."

There is structural tension between patent territoriality and technologies that operate globally. Certain courts have begun unilaterally asserting jurisdiction to set global royalties for SEPs. Implementers increasingly pursue venue selection strategies, anti-suit injunctions, and interim licenses to neutralize foreign infringement actions and delay remedies. Such venue manipulation and abuse of process creates obstacles to effective national IP protection. Implementers rarely present evidence of patent hold-up during negotiations or litigation. Innovators suffer irreparable harm from reduced investment and damage to licensing programs when competitors operate without licenses. FRAND commitments are often mischaracterized as automatic or royalty-free licenses, hindering interim relief.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law