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.

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Transsion has become one of the biggest players in the global handset space, largely on the back of its dominance of markets in sub-Saharan Africa and strong showing in South Asia. It has also been the focus of attention from a number of major connectivity licensors. Last week, Ericsson became the latest to announce it has initiated patent infringement action against the Chinese manufacturer, following eight years of trying to negotiate a licensing deal. In a post on LinkedIn, the Swedish company’s chief patent enforcement officer, Robert Earle, stated that Transsion’s behaviour is a classic case of hold-out.

Earle also revealed that Nigeria is one of the jurisdictions in which Ericsson is seeking relief. This may be the first time that an African country has found itself on the litigation frontline in an SEP-related dispute, but if Ericsson is successful, it is highly unlikely to be the last. Many sub-Saharan African economies are growing fast and with that comes increasing affluence. Ten years ago, no-one was talking about jurisdictions such as Brazil, Colombia or even India as assertion venues. They are now. As connectivity technology commodifies, patenting strategies for big licensors are increasingly looking like traditional trademark filing strategies: it’s population size that matters.

Elsewhere, Panasonic Automotive Systems became the first auto company outside of the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 pool’s founding members to take a licence to the patents available through it; while Huawei revealed that it earned $630 million in royalties in 2024. There were also further developments in the ongoing dispute between InterDigital and Amazon.

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

The latest licensee of the Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 patent pool is Tier 1 auto supplier Panasonic Automotive Systems. Sisvel | Auto supplier Panasonic Automotive Systems takes Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 pool licence

Huawei earned $630 million in patent licensing revenues in 2024; while in total over the years, the company has paid out nearly three times more in royalties than it has received. Advancing Innovation with Openness – Huawei

A settlement was reached in the SEP dispute between Xiaomi and ASUS. Terms were not announced. Xiaomi-ASUS global patent war ends in settlement – IAM 🔒

Legal

Ericsson has launched patent infringement litigation against Transsion in Brazil, India, Nigeria and at the UPC, having first approached the Chinese handset manufacturer to discuss a licensing deal in 2017. Hold-out Is Real and Must Be Stopped | LinkedIn

The licensing dispute between InterDigital and Amazon has seen a flurry of new cases filed in Europe, the United States and Brazil. After Amazon’s pre-emptive UK strike, InterDigital has now launched enforcement actions in U.S., UPC, Germany, Brazil over video patents – ip fray

Policy & Opinion

A recent article published by the American Bar Association alleges serial misbehaviour by FRAND licensors but misses the real story: the quiet erosion of negotiating balance to the benefit of implementers that is putting standards at risk. (1) Standards at Risk: Why the SEP “Abuse” Narrative Misses the Real FRAND Problem | LinkedIn

China has introduced new rules for examining video codec patents as part of a revision of the CNIPA examination guidelines. Michael Ma | LinkedIn post

New USPTO Director John Squires wants to modify the rules on IPRs to avoid abuses and duplication of judgments. This is very good news – but Congress also has a role to play. Finally, the USPTO is biting the IPR bullet - IAM 🔒

Strategy & Analysis

Sisvel Wi-Fi 6 pool head Giorgia Varvelli explains what a programme manager does and why licensing experience is crucial. Sisvel | The woman who makes Sisvel’s Wi-Fi 6 pool tick

Six lessons for the analysis of FRAND rates can be drawn from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales decision in Optis v Apple. Optis v Apple: Can a FRAND price be inferred from … | Compass Lexecon

Chinese entities now account for over 40% of all 6G patent applications, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies. Report: China world leader in 6G patent applications

A recent ruling from the Eastern District of Texas suggests that hold-out could be considered evidence of wilful infringement. A New Twist on Willful Infringement in SEP Litigation | Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP