The SEP licensing and litigation landscape has continued to evolve in the latter half of 2025, shaped by several significant global trends:
Regulatory initiatives – The European Commission confirmed the withdrawal of its proposed SEP Regulation in July. The UK has picked up the baton, publishing a wide-ranging consultation on possible ways to enhance the efficiency of SEP licensing and litigation. Meanwhile, Brazil’s competition authority, CADE, released a report highlighting that, in the absence of formal SEP rules, any future regulations in the country should focus on compliance with FRAND obligations, restrict abusive injunctions, and encourage good-faith negotiations.
Anti-competitive behavior – In India, the Supreme Court formally closed its long-running investigation into Ericsson, on account of the original complainants having settled out years ago. Brazil, however, opened a new investigation into Ericsson’s conduct regarding settlements with Motorola and Lenovo. In the United States, the Department of Justice (DOJ) raised antitrust concerns about the potential for anti-competitive harm by the solid-state storage standard-setting organization NVM Express. The DOJ also weighed in on the eBay test for injunctive relief, contending that non-practicing entity Radian should have the opportunity to demonstrate irreparable harm when seeking injunctive relief against Samsung.
Anti-suit injunctions (ASI) – The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled against China’s anti-suit practices, finding that a blanket approach to ASIs may undermine patent holders’ rights. Separately, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) granted its second anti-anti-suit injunction (AASI), this time against Disney. In parallel, the Munich Regional Court issued an ex-parte “anti-interim-license” injunction against Amazon, blocking Amazon from seeking UK declarations for interim licenses. Shortly after, the UPC’s Mannheim Local Division also granted a similar ex parte “anti-interim-license” injunction. Both courts explained they were motivated to safeguard InterDigital’s access to enforce its German or relevant European patents before German and UPC courts.
Interim licenses – The UK continues to develop its interim license declaration regime, while recent guidance from Judge Schön of the District Court of Munich cautions that German courts may, in certain cases, consider anti-anti-suit injunctions in response to interim licenses being enforced.
These developments reflect the contentious but dynamic SEP environment, as jurisdictions around the world grapple with balancing innovation, competition, and the rights of patent holders.