Welcome to the latest edition of the Sisvel Insights weekly round-up, aggregating news stories, analyses and data points affecting the SEP world that have caught our eye over the past seven days.

** Click here to get this newsletter delivered directly to your inbox every Monday **

Competition authorities in the United States and the European Union do not see eye to eye on licensing negotiation groups (LNGs). This has been apparent since at least October 2025, when a top DoJ official described a European Commission comfort letter for a planned auto LNG as “concerning and unusual”.

Now, this divergence has reportedly resulted in a formal US government investigation into four companies – BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and ThyssenKrupp – which are prominently involved in the joint SEP royalty negotiation effort. Should the proposed auto LNG be deemed in breach of the Sherman Act, the group may find itself unable to deal with SEP owners on a worldwide basis. Such a development would call the effectiveness of the LNG mechanism into serious question.

Meanwhile, a court in São Paulo has issued a ruling in a dispute between Nokia and Acer, in the process introducing a new two-phase procedure for handling SEP cases. The approach consists of a bifurcated expert process: first a FRAND assessment, followed – if necessary – by an essentiality analysis. Given the large number of global SEP disputes that now involve a Brazilian leg, parties will be keen to learn more about how this works in practice.

Elsewhere, Sisvel Insights took a closer look at a study of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 patent ownership released last week, finding both licensors and licensees of our Wi-Fi Multimode pool among the top players in this vital technology; and we sat down with Head of Portfolio Management Sharaz Gill to discuss Sisvel’s changing approach to patent asset management and the role that AI may play in this.

Please note that the inclusion of a piece in the list below does not signify agreement with what is stated in the linked article – just that we believe it is of interest and worth flagging.

Market

A new report reveals that leading Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 patentees are among the licensors and licensees backing Sisvel’s Wi-Fi Multimode pool. Read more (Sisvel Insights)

Four new licensors have joined the Video Distribution Pool operated by Access Advance and the administrator has released a FRAND white paper prepared by external experts. Read more (Access Advance)

Legal

A São Paulo court has established a new procedure for handling SEP disputes, consisting of a FRAND assessment followed – if necessary – by an essentiality analysis. Read more (Michael Ma Substack). See also IAM 🔒

Chinese automaker Geely has been slapped with an interim injunction by a Rio de Janeiro court in a case brought by cellular SEP owner IP Bridge. Read more (ip fray)

Licensor Innovative Sonic secured 5G SEP injunctions against Oppo and OnePlus at the Munich I Regional Court. Read more (ip fray) 🔒

Dolby has sued social media platform Snap in the United States and Brazil over AV1 and HEVC patents. Read more (Access Advance)

Chinese firms Skyworth and Great Wall Motor have been targeted with new SEP claims in the Brazilian courts. Read more (ip fray) 🔒

Transssion has countersued Ericsson at the UPC in its first known patent assertion. Read more (ip fray) 🔒

Policy & Opinion

The US Department of Justice is investigating the automotive LNG planned by BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Thyssenkrupp for potential antitrust violations. Read more (MLex) 🔒

Senior DoJ antitrust lawyer Dina Kallay contrasted pools’ aggregation of complementary patents with LNGs’ practice of bringing together competitors at a thinktank event in Washington. Read more (IAM) 🔒

USPTO Director John Squires has answered questions about PTAB reforms in a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Read more (IAM) 🔒

Strategy & Analysis

AI is set to be a gamechanger for portfolio management, says Sisvel’s Sharaz Gill – but only for those who know how to deploy it correctly. Read more (Sisvel Insights)

Speaking at IPBC Europe, Sisvel CEO Mattia Fogliacco described the “fiction of friction” in the SEP market, where litigation is the exception rather than the rule. Read more (Sisvel LinkedIn)