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ARTICLE · 06 NOVEMBER 2025

FRAND Forum Disputes And Interim Licences: Samsung v ZTE

Lewis Silkin
Lewis Silkin
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Lewis Silkin

Lewis Silkin

Joint managing partners: Jo Farmer, Richard Miskella International offices: Dublin, Hong Kong...

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The Court of Appeal's decision in Samsung v ZTE clarifies a live question in SEP/FRAND litigation: when parties are locked in a global forum battle, does pressing for your preferred court amount to bad faith?

United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Scott Foster
Scott Foster
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The Court of Appeal's decision in Samsung v ZTE clarifies a live question in SEP/FRAND litigation: when parties are locked in a global forum battle, does pressing for your preferred court amount to bad faith? The answer, at least on these facts, is no.

The backdrop in a nutshell

Samsung and ZTE are negotiating a renewed global cross-licence over cellular SEPs (now including 5G). Samsung sued first in England for a global FRAND determination and related relief. Within days, ZTE launched proceedings in the Chongqing Court in China for a global FRAND cross-licence. ZTE also filed infringement cases in several jurisdictions (Germany, UPC, Brazil, Hangzhou), while Samsung responded in kind in some fora and brought competition claims elsewhere. Both sides floated interim cross-licence terms on substantially the same commercial footing, with a single sticking point: which court's final FRAND determination should govern any true-up—London (Samsung) or Chongqing (ZTE).

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