In the latest installment of their monthly column focused on recent noteworthy Federal Circuit decisions, partners Jeremiah Helm and Sean Murray examine the implications of the court’s ruling in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson v. Lenovo (United States) Inc.
Helm and Murray offer background on the global litigation battle between Ericsson and Lenovo which involved a dispute over FRAND licensing terms for 5G SEPs. At one point in the litigation, Lenovo moved for an anti-suit injunction in U.S. district court to prevent Ericsson from enforcing injunctions issued against Lenovo in foreign countries. After the district court denied the injunction, determining it did not meet the “dispositive” requirement set forth by the 2012 Microsoft ruling, the Federal Circuit vacated the decision.
The authors maintain that the Federal Circuit’s ruling will likely have “broad consequences” and offer recommendations for practitioners seeking or defending against anti-suit injunctions.
“Ericsson illustrates the complexity associated with global litigation involving SEPs. Intricate contractual obligations and the potential for parallel foreign judgments mean that a court must assess policy issues and determine the deference due to foreign courts,” Helm and Murray conclude. “After Ericsson, courts can no longer sidestep these difficult policy issues by denying an anti-suit injunction on the dispositive prong.”
Read the full article here.
