Managing IP interviews Mr Justice Mellor

After a few years of upheaval in the Patents Court, it is good to see the continued expansion of the Patents bench, and @ManagingIP have published a recent interview with its newest member, Mr Justice Mellor. A number of subjects are canvassed in the interview, including the world of SEPs and FRAND. Two points of note arise in that regard.

The first is the comment that there is a "whole raft" of telecoms SEP cases in the pipeline for the coming year.

The second is the issue of anti-suit injunctions (and various iterations of the same) in FRAND cases. It is refreshing to hear that Mr Justice Mellor is of the view that the escalating cycle of ASIs is unsustainable (as the article notes, the present 'record' is an anti-anti-anti-anti-suit). However, as Mr Justice Mellor explains, the route of the problem may be that courts need to have the power to rule on a monopoly right granted by their jurisdiction. Courts should be aware of the limits of their own jurisdiction and not overstep it, but with multiple territorial rights in play (and a common international obligation), it is a question of seeing what happens more than anything else.