Anti-Interim-License Injunctions: A New Chapter in the Battle of SEP Royalties

The United Kingdom’s interim license regime and the Unified Patent Court’s subsequent anti-interim-license injunctions have introduced a new dimension to global litigation over standard-essential patents (SEPs). This article examines the emerging conflict between these competing approaches and argues that it reflects a broader structural tension between the territorial nature of patent rights and the increasingly global character of FRAND adjudication. After analyzing the development of the UK interim license regime and the UPC’s response in InterDigital v. Amazon, the article places this judicial confrontation in the wider context of WTO disputes concerning anti-suit injunctions, global FRAND rate-setting and the territoriality principle under the TRIPS Agreement. It concludes that the current procedural escalation is symptomatic of the absence of a coherent international framework for allocating jurisdiction over global SEP disputes, and that lasting solutions will require greater coordination between domestic courts, international institutions and private ordering mechanisms.