Application of the FRAND objection following the FCJ judgments FRAND-Einwand and FRAND-Einwand II, Düsseldorf District Court, judgments dated May 11, 2021 – docket nos. 4b O 83/19, 4b O 23/20, and 4b O 49/20

With its judgments of May 11, 2021, docket nos. 4b O 83/19, 4b O 23/20, and 4b 49/20, the Düsseldorf District Court follows the guidelines of the German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) regarding the application of FRAND objections and refrains its previous assessment approach.

So far, the Düsseldorf District Court had only set low standards for the infringer’s declaration of a willingness to take a license with regard to the obligations introduced by the European Court of Justice by means of the decision Huawei v. ZTE; the District Court had focused its examination on the FRAND license offer of the SEP owner.

Now, in line with the FCJ, the implementer’s willingness to take a license also is a decisive aspect of the District Court’s examination, with an overall consideration of the conduct of both parties during licensing negotiations taking place.

The full summary can be read here.
The decisions FRAND-Einwand I and II can be read here.

Headnote and summary provided by: Tilman Müller-Stoy, Jan Bösing and Stefan Lieck