On April 3, 2020, Judge Selna issued an Order in the TCL v. Ericsson case upon remand from the Federal Circuit, teeing the matter up for a jury trial on all liability and FRAND issues in the case to be heard at the same time.
Recall that the Federal Circuit vacated Judge Selna’s bench trial decision in the case, ruling that Ericsson has the right to a jury trial to determine compensation for past infringement (i.e., a release payment) of Ericsson’s standard essential patents (SEPs) under the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (see our December 5, 2019 post). Siding with Ericsson’s position that the matter should proceed to a jury trial on all issues, the Federal Circuit found the issue of a release payment to be intertwined with determining both whether Ericsson had offered to license its patents on FRAND terms and a forward royalty rate.
Judge Selna’s order arises from a March 2, 2020 status conference during which TCL contended that the validity and enforceability of Ericsson’s patents-in-suit should be litigated ahead of issues related to damages and FRAND rates and that the Court should lift its order to stay worldwide litigation between the companies. Judge Selna disagreed and ruled that trial would proceed on all issues in a single jury trial.
No trial date has been set and the parties have been ordered to submit a joint report on trial preparation and any new discovery required.