Concur IP SEP analysis proves crucial in the landmark TCL-Ericsson judgement

In a major verdict by the California District Court in the now famous TCL vs. Ericsson case, Judge James Selna determined the FRAND royalty rates for Ericsson’s SEP portfolio of 2G, 3G, and 4G patents. Judge Selna largely relied on the top down approach proposed by TCL to calculate the FRAND rate and used comparable licenses as a cross check to ensure non-discrimination.

Top down approach involved determining Ericsson’s share of SEPs from the total number of industry-wide SEPs for each of the standards. Concur IP performed essentiality evaluations for 2,600 patent families to determine the total number of industry-wide SEPs. Despite numerous challenges made by Ericsson regarding Concur IP’s process of essentiality evaluation, the court relied on the number of industry-wide SEPs determined by Concur IP for the top down calculation (pages 28-32 of the judgement).