Haiwen Assisted TCL in Reaching Settlement in China's First SEP Pool Royalty Setting / Antitrust Disputes

TCL与Access Advance LLC就视频编解码HEVC/H.265标准必要专利（SEP）达成全球专利池许可协议。TCL作为全球消费电子行业的知名企业及HEVC/H.265标准必要专利的实施人，与全球视频编解码技术领域著名专利池管理企业Access Advance达成合作。在此之前，TCL与Access Advance及其专利池成员（包括杜比、通用电气、飞利浦、三菱电机、JVCKenwood、NEC、ETRI、IP Bridge等）围绕HEVC/H.265标准必要专利许可展开谈判多年，因未能达成一致，曾在中国、德国、巴西、欧洲统一专利法院等多个司法辖区发生数十起诉讼，包括在中国针对专利池提起的标准必要专利使用费纠纷和滥用市场支配地位纠纷两起诉讼。随着双方达成和解，历时多年的上述许可纠纷随即画上了句号。

TCL reached a global patent pool licensing agreement with Access Advance LLC concerning Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) for the HEVC/H.265 video codec standard. As a prominent player in the global consumer electronics industry and an implementer of HEVC/H.265 SEPs, TCL has entered collaboration with Access Advance, a globally renowned administrator of SEP pools in the video codec technology domain. Previously, TCL had engaged in negotiations for many years with Access Advance and its pool members including Dolby, GE, Philips, Mitsubishi Electric, JVCKenwood, NEC, ETRI, and IP Bridge – regarding the licensing of HEVC/H.265 SEPs. However, the parties were unable to reach a consensus, which led to multiple litigations in jurisdictions such as China, Germany, Brazil, and the Unified Patent Court. These included two lawsuits filed in China against the patent pool, addressing disputes over SEP royalty setting and alleged abuse of market dominance. With the settlement between the parties, the prolonged licensing disputes have now reached a resolution.

海问团队全程代理TCL处理了中国境内的两起诉讼，这两起诉讼是中国首例请求法院判决专利池全球许可费率的诉讼和针对标准必要专利池的反垄断诉讼，也是全球首次法院确认对专利池全球许可费率及其涉嫌垄断行为具有管辖权，因此被视为SEP领域标志性的案件。

Haiwen team represented TCL throughout these two cases in China, which marked China's first litigation requesting a judicial decision on a global SEP royalty rate for a patent pool, as well as the first antitrust litigation against a SEP pool. Furthermore, they were the first cases globally in which a court affirmed its jurisdiction over the global royalty rate setting of a SEP pool and its potential monopolistic conduct, inevitably making them landmark cases in the SEP field.

随着标准必要专利许可生态的发展，专利池在许可活动中发挥着越来越重要的作用，也引起越来越多的关注和讨论。在此过程中，大量有关反垄断和知识产权交叉领域的前沿性问题，有待在实践中不断厘清，从而在专利池一揽子许可这一新的场景下，为“公平合理无歧视”（FRAND）原则赋予更有针对性、更具实操性的内涵。

As the ecosystem for SEP licensing evolves, patent pools are playing an increasingly significant role in licensing activities, sparking growing attention and debate. In this process, numerous pioneering issues at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property remain to be clarified in practice, aiming to impart the "Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory" (FRAND) principle with a more targeted and practical significance within the novel context of patent pool licensing.