English High Court to hear Vodafone 4G patent case
Vodafone will face IP licensing company IPCOM in a trial before the English High Court to decide whether it infringed a patent relating to 4G network technology.
According to a statement from IPCOM today, July 24, the trial will begin on November 19 following “years of attempted negotiations by IPCOM”.
IPCom said it had presented Vodafone with a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) offer. This included royalty payments to IPCom for Vodafone’s use of its portfolio of standard essential patents.
It said Vodafone has so far “refused to sign an undertaking committing to take a FRAND licence”.
The focus of the trial will be a disputed patent relating to the process of granting mobile phones access to the 4G network.
“Amongst other uses, this technology allows emergency service calls to be prioritised appropriately on the network,” IPCom said, adding that the patent is due to expire in February 2020, and the court therefore took the decision to expedite the trial.
IPCom said this “is a landmark case for the telecoms industry and FRAND protocol”.
Pio Suh, managing director of IPCom said: “We were both surprised and disappointed that, despite our transparent FRAND offer and diplomatic approach, Vodafone turned its back on out-of-court negotiations.”
“However, we’re also pleased that an expedited trial hearing has been granted, and we remain hopeful that this case can be swiftly resolved,” Suh added.
A Vodafone spokesperson told WIPR: "The Vodafone group believes this patent claim is misconceived, and we will defend it vigorously."
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