UK Court of Appeal rules on side of fairness in ongoing Lenovo v InterDigital case

The UK Court of Appeal today ruled in the ongoing landmark case between InterDigital and Lenovo for license rates for 3G, 4G, and 5G patents, ruling a limited and very modest uplift of the original royalty rate to 22.5 US cents per unit, only 6.5 cents higher than what Lenovo argued at trial was Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND).

The amount ruled on appeal is only 5 US cents off the rate set by Justice Mellor (17.5 US cents), but significantly less than half (27 US cents lower) the 49-50 US cents rate that InterDigital sought as a per-unit rate both at trial and appeal. Beyond the royalty rate, Justice Mellor’s original ruling otherwise remained undisturbed, including his determination of InterDigital’s un-FRAND conduct. As further evidence of its willingness and commitment to FRAND licensing, Lenovo is publicly offering InterDigital 22.5 US cents per cellular unit for a forward-looking license and hope this fully resolves the parties’ disputes.

Commenting on the ruling, Lenovo’s John Mulgrew, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief Intellectual Property Officer, welcomes the decision:

“We are pleased with the Court’s commitment to confirm fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms for licensing, and are encouraged by what this decision means for ongoing negotiations with InterDigital, wider industry IP litigation cases, and most importantly, how this facilitates the proliferation of affordable innovation to customers around the world. Given the decision is far closer to Lenovo’s original position than InterDigital’s, we believe this is a further win for Lenovo and reinforces our continued commitment to FRAND licensing and being a willing licensee in the face of supra-FRAND offers and behavior.”

A copy of the ruling can be found here.