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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For the first time ever, the Mannheim Local Division of the Unified Patent Court has issued an anti-antisuit injunction. It did so in favour of InterDigital and against Disney, after the latter sought an antisuit injunction (ASI) in the US District Court for the Central District of California to prevent InterDigital from enforcing a possible sales ban against it in Brazil. The two companies are locked in a patent dispute concerning video codec SEPs and following Disney’s action in California, InterDigital made a pre-emptive play in Europe to prevent a possible ASI covering its UPC assertion.

Having secured the order, InterDigital is now in a position to enforce an EU injunction against Disney should it prevail in the scheduled trial. Taking a step back, both companies are back to where they were before Disney’s initial filing in California – having spent significant additional sums of money. Only they will know whether it was worth it or not. If it hastens the pair towards a settlement, perhaps it was.

In other news, noted SEP expert Eric Stasik published a paper in which he looked at patent pools operating in the smart meter space – including Sisvel’s Cellular IoT programme – and debunked claims made about them being obstacles to progress in the green energy transition. Instead, Stasik showed, they are fundamental to its success.

Elsewhere, Gary Locke, the former US ambassador to China, wrote an opinion piece arguing Beijing needs to do much more to level the playing field for SEP licensors; and Sisvel announced the launch of Sisvel Bespoke, a service designed to deliver win-win outcomes in complex patent transactions.

Please note that 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 pointing out.

Market

We introduced Sisvel Bespoke, a custom dealmaking service devised and led by our former head of strategy Nick Dudziak. Sisvel | Introducing Sisvel Bespoke

Panasonic became the 35^th patent owner to join the Sisvel Cellular IoT pool. Sisvel | Panasonic joins Sisvel Cellular IoT pool as 35th patent owner

LG Electronics joined the Qi wireless patent pool run by Via LA as both licensor and licensee. LG Electronics joins Via Licensing Alliance’s Qi wireless charging patent pool as licensor, licensee – ip fray

Legal

The Mannheim Local Division of the UPC has granted its first-ever anti-antisuit injunction in a case involving InterDigital and Disney. First-ever UPC Mannheim anti-antisuit injunction, U.S. court denies PI against Brazilian SEP enforcement: InterDigital v. Disney – ip fray

Samsung has amended its UK FRAND suit against ZTE to seek an interim licence. ZTE moves for dismissal of Samsung’s California FRAND contract and antitrust action; filing reveals Samsung is seeking interim license in UK – ip fray

Two more European patent suits against BYD have come to light, one in Germany’s Mannheim court and one at the UPC’s Local Division in The Hague. SEP enforcement against Chinese car maker BYD reaches Unified Patent Court’s The Hague Local Division – ip fray

Policy & Opinion

Former US ambassador to China Gary Locke has written an article arguing that Beijing should commit to a level playing field in SEP licensing royalty payments. Former Ambassador: China Cutting Corners on Technology | Newsweek

The “Big Beautiful Bill” contains provisions that would affect IP valuation and intangible accounting, as well as a new tax on university licensing income. Examining the Intellectual Property-Relevant Provisions in the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ - IPWatchdog

Strategy & Analysis

The licensing of SEPs via patent pools is not an impediment to the spread of smart meters in Europe but a vital part of facilitating their continued roll-out. Eric Stasik - LinkedIn

What CIPOs and counsel need to know about the PTAB’s new bifurcated process for discretionary denial. Tactical takeaways from the PTAB discretionary denial bifurcated process - IAM🔒