On 23 Sept. 2020, Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court ruled that the American company, Inter Digital, Inc., and its affiliates (hereinafter referred to as “Inter Digital”) should immediately withdraw or suspend the application for ruling in respect of the patent royalties and the temporary injunction to the Indian court against Xiaomi Communications Technology Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xiaomi”) in India and shall not apply for any such ruling and injunction in any courts around the world. For the violation of the said ruling, a fine of RMB1 million per day shall be accrued on a daily basis.
Wuhan Intermediate people's Court held that it has the jurisdiction of the case, for Xiaomi is registered in China and that one of its affiliates is located in Wuhan. In addition, the case was accepted by the Chinese court first before it was accepted by the Indian court. In case of any parallel action between countries, the jurisdiction shall be exercised by the court that first accepts the case in principle. Before the conclusion of the case, the temporary injunction for Inter Digital to file a lawsuit will not cause any material losses to it.
Since 2013, Xiaomi, as an enforcer of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) for wireless communications, has conducted several rounds of negotiations with Inter Digital on patent licensing to no avail. On 9 Jun. 2020, Xiaomi filed a lawsuit with the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court to determine the patent royalties. On 29 Jul. 2020, Inter Digital sued Xiaomi in a Delhi court in India to settle the patent royalty rate disputes and apply for injunctions. On 4 Aug. 2020, Xiaomi filed an application for an injunction, the behavior preservation, with Wuhan Intermediate People's Court.
After ordering the aforementioned anti-suit injunction on 23 Sept. 2020, Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court further dismissed the application for reconsideration on the ruling filed by Inter Digital on 4 Dec. 2020.
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
