Nokia v Daimler twists and turns, with an interesting development for implementers looking to make a non-specific FRAND offer

It seems the twists and turns of the Nokia-Daimler saga continue, with news that a German Appellate Court has stayed the enforcement of a patent injunction granted by the first instance court in the long running SEP / FRAND battle playing out in Germany (other jurisdictions are available).

Of particular interest is the reported basis for the stay, namely that (contrary to the view of the first instance court), an implementer's FRAND offer that does not specify a particular royalty amount, but rather leaves its determination to a Court absent agreement (known in Germany as an Art. 315 offer), could be sufficient to show that an implementer was a willing FRAND licensee.

We shall see what happens next in this ongoing soap opera, with the CJEU referral on the issue of component level licensing slowly moving forward.