Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd & Anor v ZTE Corporation & Ors

Facts

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd and Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited sued ZTE Corporation, ZTE (UK) Limited, Nubia Technology Co., Ltd, Livewire Telecom Limited and Efones.com Limited, seeking declarations that seven Samsung patents were essential to certain standards and infringed, a FRAND injunction, declarations that two ZTE patents were invalid, inessential and not infringed, a determination of FRAND terms and related FRAND declarations. ZTE counterclaimed for revocation of the Samsung patents. Mellor J directed that a FRAND trial should come first, followed by two technical trials. The FRAND trial was heard by Meade J in January and February 2026 and judgment was delivered on 1 May 2026, at around the time the Chongqing Intermediate People's Court and the Munich Landgericht gave decisions in parallel proceedings; the dispute nonetheless remained unresolved. Technical Trial B was stayed by agreement. Technical Trial A concerned EP(UK) 3,934,154, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Design of NR-SS Burst Set", with an unchallenged priority date of 24 February 2017, relating to initial access in 5G New Radio. ZTE accepted that the Patent was essential to the 5G standard and would, absent a licence, be infringed by their 5G devices, so the only issue was validity, with the remaining claims agreed to stand or fall with claim 1. ZTE, bearing the burden, alleged obviousness over a 3GPP document known as LG 434, collocation of two independent inventions, and lack of technical effect or plausibility. Each side called one expert: Dr Shin Horng Wong for ZTE and Mr Nicholas Anderson for Samsung.