UK Trial to Hear Samsung’s Anti-competition Claims Against Ericsson Deal

The English High Court has said that a trial must determine whether a patent sale from Ericsson to licensing company Unwired Planet breached EU competition law, in a dispute related to the alleged infringement of six standard-essential patents (SEPs).


At the centre of the SEP row is a claim asserted by Unwired Planet that Samsung, Google and Huawei infringed six of its patents.


The company filed the claim in March 2014 after it attempted to agree a licensing deal with the defendants on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. The defendants claimed it was not a FRAND deal, and the case is continuing.


All six patents cover technology used by telecommunications companies and are considered SEPs by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute-a telecoms industry standard-setting organisation, of which both Samsung and Ericsson are members.