UPC Roundup; SEP, Fed. Cir., USPTO articles; third-party intervenors at UKSC

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1) Premium: UPC Roundup (1 week): Mannheim LD separates Ericsson patent cases; Munich LD narrows use of confidential licensing materials; strict scheduling standards

This is a summary of developments in and around the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in the calendar week of May 11, 2026.

The last section, Around the court, is not paywalled. Among other things, it mentions Prof. Dr. Wim Maas's upcoming inaugural lecture (free livestream).

2) Freemium: SEP strategies: Disney demonstrates why (F)RAND does not and cannot work for video streamers the way it does for display devices

For a long time, SEP enforcement against video streamers was pretty much non-existent. Now that there is a first major wave of such lawsuits and various injunctions have come down, fundamental enforcement-related differences become clear.

The part about what Disney is doing is free. The further analysis is premium content.

3) Premium but free summary: Federal Circuit reverses fee award and sanctions based on broad scope of what is purely lack of merit

The Federal Circuit affirmed dismissal of mCom’s banking patent suits and upheld invalidity findings against the remaining asserted claims, but reversed both the fee award and the sanctions imposed against counsel, reiterating that unsuccessful patent litigation alone does not establish exceptional or abusive conduct.

4) Free: UPC infringement filings shift beyond Germany as German-based divisions’ share drops to 50% in April 2026

New data suggests a gradual shift in infringement filings away from Germany-based divisions. While Germany remains dominant, its share of infringement actions fell to 50 percent in April 2026, reflecting increasing claimant confidence in non-German UPC venues.

5) Mostly premium: SEP holders now have four ways of avoiding UK interim licenses; Acer, ASUS defeat pokes hole in their (F)RAND defenses in Nokia ITC case

Chinese SEP holders may even have a fifth way of avoiding UK FRAND jurisdiction. Meanwhile, for Acer and ASUS, the recent UK appellate ruling complicates everything in their disputes with Nokia.

6) Premium: USPTO Director provides comprehensive explainer on discretionary denials policy in new decision

The Magnolia decision has essentially been used as a vehicle to communicate the USPTO’s evolving line on discretionary denials, offering detail for patentees and petitioners alike.

7) LinkedIn: Massive interest by third parties in influencing UK Supreme Court's Optis v. Apple decision

Intervenors include The Motion Picture Association, HMD, Intel, Acer, ASUS, Qualcomm, The Fair Standards Alliance, and Tunstall Healthcare Group.

The hearing will be held at the end of June and beginning of July. Apple won the first round, Optis the second.