Why Global IP Litigants Keep Turning to English Courts

While Germany and the U.S. may be attractive forums for intellectual property matters, two recent court decisions allude that the UK arguably is also a competitor in the domain of IP.

The UK Supreme Court’s decision in Tesla v. InterDigital ruled that English and Welsh courts can adjudicate the terms of a global FRAND license if a technology implementer request it. This is similar to the court’s 2020 judgment in Unwired Planet.

Speaking to Managing IP, Finnegan partner Jin Ooi said [this] decision is the most important development for the UK’s position as a FRAND forum since Unwired Planet.

“What makes the case particularly significant internationally is the sheer breadth of the claim the Supreme Court was prepared to entertain,” he said.

The judgment comes amid what Jin calls “increasing jurisdictional competition” between venues in the UK, Germany and the UPC.

Major SEP disputes are typically fought across multiple jurisdictions concurrently, while the choice of forum is one of the most significant factors in a litigator’s likelihood of success.

“In that context, Tesla v. InterDigital is likely to be seen as a further confirmation that the UK intends to remain one of the key battlegrounds for global SEP disputes,” Jin said.

This summer, the England and Wales High Court granted Hasbro, the owners of the IP rights behind children’s cartoon Peppa Pig, a worldwide injunction based on a small sample of content produced under the infringing Wolfoo brand.

Hasbro and the original creator of Peppa Pig overcame a jurisdictional challenge by the defendants on their way to victory.

Jin said it is the courts’ willingness to pioneer solutions in international disputes that continues to attract the biggest cases and further bolster their reputations.

“Increasingly, the courts that resolve the most important international disputes are often the ones that end up shaping the rules everyone else works within.”

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