UK High Court Orders Interim License in Video Codec SEP Dispute

In early 2025, the UK Court of Appeal issued a series of decisions establishing that standard essential patent (SEP) owners must offer interim licenses in fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) patent licensing disputes to be considered willing licensors, prompting jurisdictional pushback from one of Germany’s top patent courts and the EU’s Unified Patent Court (UPC). Now, the UK High Court has issued another notable interim license ruling in a declaratory judgment action brought by implementers Acer, ASUS, and Hisense against SEP owner Nokia, addressing several novel issues—including the impact of offers to resolve the underlying licensing disputes via arbitration, as well as whether the relevant licensing commitments were enforceable under the applicable Swiss law. The court also offered rebuttals to various concerns raised by the German court and the UPC over the UK approach.