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Prime for the taking: InterDigital lands blows against Amazon in long-running SEP saga

David Al-Khalili
David Al-Khalili
Senior Associate, Patent Attorney

InterDigital has recently landed blows against Amazon in their ongoing legal saga. The dispute relates to InterDigital’s digital streaming standard essential patents (SEPs), and in August 2025, Amazon brought proceedings before the UK High Court in which it asked the court to set license terms for these SEPs. In those proceedings, reference was made to the potential award of an interim license under adjustable terms until a final determination of terms was made.

In October 2024, the UK Court of Appeal had granted an interim license to Xiaomi in its SEP licensing dispute with Panasonic, until such a time that both a license and fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms determined by the UK Patents Court for that license take effect. The court’s opinion was effectively that a willing licensor who was acting in good faith should have no problem with providing an interim license.

Without the UK High Court having actually made any orders relating to the granting of an interim license in the Amazon v InterDigital case, InterDigital sought anti-suit relief from both the Mannheim Local Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the German Munich Regional Court. Ex parte anti-suit injunctions (ASIs) were subsequently granted by both courts. The Mannheim Local Division’s order prohibited Amazon from seeking interim licenses or related declarations in the UK, and set a daily fine of up to €250,000 for non-compliance. In its award of the ASI in September 2025, the Mannheim Local Division classified an interim license as “a de facto prohibition on litigation”, and negative consequences suffered by a patent proprietor who does not grant an interim license “may deter him [sic] from seeking judicial enforcement before the UPC, which is protected by fundamental rights”. As such, it was noted that the award of an ASI was “exclusively defensive in nature and is intended to shield the proceedings before the UPC”.

What has followed has effectively developed into somewhat of a turf war between the UPC and the UK courts.

Shortly after award of the ASIs in Germany, the UK High Court handed down an ex parte anti-anti-suit injunction (AASI) in October 2025, restraining InterDigital from enforcing the ASIs awarded by the Mannheim Local Division of the UPC and the German Munich Regional Court.

The UK High Court, in awarding the AASI, tried to play down any impression of hostility or retaliation to the UPC or Munich court, with Meade J stating that: “[I]t is neither. This application is very firmly directed at InterDigital and its possible conduct and, for reasons that I will touch on, I hope and expect that the order I make will be of short duration and such that it provides no interference at all with proceedings in the UPC or in the German national courts...”  

Following handing down of the AASI, InterDigital announced the enforcement of its patents (in the Mannheim Local Division of the UPC and the German Munich Regional Court as well as in the USA and Brazil) against Amazon, claiming that the patents are infringed through Amazon’s devices and services including FireTV, Kindle, and Prime Video.

In an order dated 22 December 2025, the Mannheim Local Division confirmed its ASI award, and stated that the EU Commission was to be furnished with a copy of its order due to the possible effects of InterDigital and Amazon’s dispute on EU antitrust law.

The following day, on 23 December 2025, Amazon filed an appeal against this order, and applied for suspensive effect to be urgently awarded against the order. However, the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court dismissed the request for suspensive effect less than a week later, on 29 December 2025.

So, where does this leave us? The UK courts have set the trial date (for the final determination of license terms) for September 2026, so in some senses, InterDigital and Amazon’s battles may begin to conclude then, although InterDigital’s infringement claims against Amazon are likely to continue at least until there is agreement between the two parties on licensing terms. The wider question relates to how the inter-jurisdictional tussle between the UK, for some time seen as the global leader in setting FRAND rates for SEPs, and the UPC will play out in the long-run.

In any event, it appears that the UPC is fast becoming a key litigation forum for SEP holders and for the enforcement of SEPs.

Related article

FRAND judgments at the UPC? The latest act in Panasonic’s SEP infringement saga with OPPO and Xiaomi: 
dycip.com/frand-sep-xiaomi-panasonic

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