Nokia judgment turns attention to arbitration in SEP licensing disputes
By Douglas Clarke-Williams ( May 13, 2026, 15:30 GMT | Comment) -- The prospect of settling standard-essential patent disputes by arbitration rather than litigation has received a boost with a UK appeal court ruling that Nokia’s offer of SEP licensing negotiations through arbitration were indeed fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, or FRAND. But questions remain over whether arbitration is genuinely a new frontier for FRAND negotiations, or just another twist in global disputes.The prospect of international arbitration as an alternative to fighting out disagreements over standard-essential patents in the courts has long been championed by some in the sector....
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