Patent Litigation & Arbitration

There is a growing uptake in the use of arbitration in the context of patent disputes, in particular those relating to Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) that necessarily involve Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) licence terms. In fact, despite the UK court being willing and able to deal with international FRAND licensing disputes, the judges are themselves proposing arbitration as an alternative, and in many respects, more advantageous form for such disputes in the future (see our recent LawNow on this topic here).

In this arbitration/patent litigation space, CMS are ideally placed to advise international businesses and to assist with the successful conclusion of arbitrations in this complex and highly specialised space. Our arbitration team has a significant track record in international arbitration, from advising on the drafting of arbitration agreements through the conduct of the arbitral process to enforcing arbitration awards, whilst our Patent litigation team has extensive experience advising clients on both the technical and FRAND aspects of patent licensing disputes (in arbitration and High Court litigation, including at the Supreme Court).

Furthermore, the commencement of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) next year brings with it the Unified Patent Court Arbitration and Mediation Centre. CMS are again ideally placed to advise and act in this UPC context given its combined Litigation and Patent Prosecution teams already advising clients in relation to this new forum.  

CMS not only has this experience in London but across its impressive international network. This means that no matter where (and under what rules) the arbitration may be brought, CMS will have both global and local expertise to fight for the best outcome for our clients.