“The UPC wants to bring ZTE and Samsung to the negotiating table”
Three courts, three proposals to ZTE and Samsung for their cross-licencing agreement. So the figures are on the table. And so is an injunction as a means of exerting pressure to reach an agreement. In the global SEP dispute between the mobile phone companies ZTE and Samsung, the UPC's Mannheim local division presided over Peter Tochermann clearly did not want to add another judgment. Instead, the UPC is positioning itself as the "voice of reason" and submitting a settlement proposal.
13 May 2026 by Christina Schulze
In its proposal, the UPC recommends that, rather than continuing the patent proceedings, the parties convene at the PMAC for mediation on the very day it begins operations. The UPC is therefore strongly encouraging the parties to come to what it describes as an “amicable solution”. Although the order is merely a recommendation and not a decision or binding order, the court has nevertheless set a tight two-week deadline for the parties to decide whether they wish to appeal to the PMAC.
“It would be quite the opening act for the PMAC”
It would be quite the opening act for the PMAC if it could help resolve such an extensive high-profile patent dispute between Chinese company ZTE and Korean giant Samsung. The judgments already handed down in China, London, Munich, and Frankfurt will certainly be on the negotiating table. The case would guarantee the PMAC international attention for its mediation proceedings right from the start.
Cheaper at the UK court
Whether this happens is, of course, in the hands of the parties. In his UK High Court judgment, Richard Meade criticised the international patent system, saying that, when parties end up litigating so extensively because they can agree on everything but the price, the system is dysfunctional.
JUVE Patent has not yet been able to ascertain why this dispute has been going on for such an unusually long time and with such intensity. One reason could be that ZTE’s patents, unlike those of industry giants such as Apple, have so far been less scrutinised in litigation.
But it is clear that this case offers a good platform for patent courts to position themselves. Judge Meade’s ruling underlined how deeply London patent courts delve into cases in order to set a specific FRAND rate. As a result, the rate set by the UK High Court for a cross-licence agreement is significantly higher than Samsung’s offer, but lower than ZTE’s demands.
“This case offers a good platform for patent courts”
The local division Mannheim is not following Meade’s FRAND price tag. Instead, it recommends that the parties take the proposals of Munich Regional Court, Frankfurt Regional Court and Chongqing First Intermediate People’s Court as a starting point. The Chinese court had confirmed ZTE’s claims as FRAND-compliant.
JUVE Patent does not yet know what the parties will now do with this multitude of decisions and what role the injunction will play in Munich. However, companies can already learn a great deal from the courts’ behaviour for future FRAND cases.
