ADR in SEP Licensing Disputes

World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva
Author Emmanuel Berrod  Licence CC BY-SA 4.0  Source  Wikimedia Commons




 




























I mentioned the government's consultation on standard essential patents in Latest Consultation on Standard Essential Patent Licensing on 18 July 2025.  One of the topics is "Tell us how alternative dispute resolution services work for standard essential patent disputes."  

According to its "WIPO ADR for FRAND Disputes" page, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre has administered some 80 WIPO mediation cases relating to FRAND licensing negotiations. Here are examples of some of the disputes that the Centre has handled:
  • "Mediations between large SEP holders and implementers in Asia and Europe to facilitate the agreement of FRAND licensing terms.
  • Requests for WIPO Mediation relating to licensing negotiations between patent pool administrators and implementers in relation to ongoing unsuccessful patent licensing negotiations. These cases included parties from 19 jurisdictions (50% of cases involved parties based in Asia including China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea). Mediation requests prompted renewed licensing negotiations.
  • IP courts in China have referred ten ICT patent infringement cases to WIPO Mediation. Seven of those cases involved claimants from Europe.
  • In the course of litigation before a court in an EU Member State, a large Asian manufacturer submitted a unilateral request to WIPO Mediation concerning its SEP infringement litigation against a large European SEP holder."
The Centre has published WIPO ADR Options for FRAND Dispute Management and Resolution, which provides guidance on the WIPO's mediation, arbitration, expedited arbitration and expert determination services.  Margarita Kato, Legal Case Manager, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre, published Arbitration and mediation: resolving patent licensing disputes in the world of standardized technology in the WIPO Magazine on 13 Dec 2022.  She also appeared with Evelyn Chen, director at Ericsson's IP Rights and Licensing group in a discussion on WIPO ADR for Standardized Technology and Patent Licensing Disputes.  Other resources include a page on Standard Essential Patents and a list of references to all reported FRAND cases in every major jurisdiction.

Anyone wishing to discuss this topic may call me on 020 7404 5252 during UK office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time.

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