German Patent Court confirms validity of the patent DE 699 24 914 (EP 0 957 594)

Munich, 21.12.2020 - On December 16th, 2020 the German Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) in Munich has confirmed the validity of the German counterpart DE 699 24 914 of the patent EP 0 957 594.

The patent concerns the synchronization of the handset to the base station. Synchronization signals are broadcast in a manner to aid the handset in obtaining rapid synchronization. IPCom considers the patent to be standard essential for implementing the UMTS primary and secondary synchronization channels.

The nullity proceeding was brought by Samsung, LG and HTC after IPCom has sued the companies for infringing the patent in suit at the Regional Court of Düsseldorf (Landgericht Düsseldorf) and at the Regional Court of Munich (Landgericht München) through the licensing entity FIPA AG.

“We appreciate the decision of the German Patent Court confirming the validity of the patent. Also, we regard the fact that the Landgericht Düsseldorf has decided on the infringement against HTC even before the Bundespatentgericht has decided on the validity as a strong signal.” says Pio Suh, Managing Director of IPCom.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing was held at the DPMAforum in Munich

The Landgericht Düsseldorf has decided on January 28, 2020 (4a O 121/17) confirming the infringement against HTC. The appeal against this decision was filed by HTC on February 27th, 2020 (I-2 U 8/290) at the Higher Regional Court Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf). Suh states further:

“We welcome the continuation of FRAND negotiations with the parties. As always, IPCom is committed to the FRAND rules and thus assures fair, transparent and good-faith negotiations”

IPCom/FIPA was represented by Bernhard Frohwitter (Frohwitter law firm), David Molnia and Dominik Ho (df-mp).

About IPCom

IPCom GmbH & Co. KG is an intellectual property (IP) rights licensing and technology R&D company, which supports companies with asserting patent rights and concluding patent license agreements on FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms. IPCom holds over 200 patent families in the field of mobile communications, with more than 1,000 patents registered in Europe, the US and Asia, most of which have been granted. Committed to the principles of FRAND, fair play and competitive advantage, IPCom also offers consulting services to companies in the telecoms space, with the aim of levelling the playing field and ensuring those behind the development of standard essential patents (SEPs) are fairly rewarded for their technologies and work.

IPCom is headquartered in Pullach, Munich, Germany, and operates on a global basis.

http://www.ipcom-munich.com