InterDigital scores third SEP win in Lenovo fight

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

InterDigital scores third SEP win in Lenovo fight

Entrance to the Royal Court of Justice

Court of Appeal judges overturned the High Court’s Mr Justice James Mellor, who was 'beguiled by a sleight of hand'

The England and Wales Court of Appeal reinstated an InterDigital-owned patent on appeal in a blow to Lenovo, today, February 9.

The judgment overturned an earlier ruling by the High Court’s Mr Justice James Mellor, who found the InterDigital 3G patent invalid as obvious in January 2022.

According to Lord Justice Richard Arnold’s lead opinion, Mellor was “beguiled by a sleight of hand” in one of Lenovo’s arguments and accepted an incorrect claim interpretation.

The appeal concerned a document cited by Lenovo during its cross-examination of InterDigital’s expert witness.

An answer from the witness to a particular question from Lenovo led Mellor to find that InterDigital’s claims lacked novelty.

But Lenovo’s question evaded the key issue that Mellor should have focused on instead, InterDigital successfully argued on appeal.

It was a minor issue that received little attention during the High Court trial, Arnold said.

Mellor’s mistake was understandable given the number of issues he had to deal with, Arnold added.

Today’s judgment is the latest in a series of wins for InterDigital in the dispute, and the second at the Court of Appeal in the last month.

“This latest UK court victory, our third in a matter of weeks, serves as further confirmation of the quality of our patented innovations,” said Josh Schmidt, chief legal officer at InterDigital.

Mellor’s judgment in the FRAND trial, which concluded last February, is currently pending and is one of the year's most keenly anticipated UK patent judgments.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Partners at three law firms explain why trade secrets cases are rising, and how litigation is giving clients a market advantage
Delegates at a conference unpicking the UK’s relationship with the UPC are hopeful of strengthened UK involvement – so should we all be
News of a litigation funder suing its co-founder and a law firm over trade secrets infringement, and a strategic hire by Womble Bond Dickinson were also among the top talking points
Managing IP’s parent company, LBG, will acquire The Lawyer, a leading news, intelligence, and data-driven insight provider for the legal industry, from Centaur Media
In major recent developments, a team of partners broke away from Taylor Wessing to form their own firm, while Kilburn & Strode made a strategic UPC hire
General Court backs Christian Archambeau in some of his challenges against his departure, but dismisses others
Morgan Lewis adds three partners with technical depth, reinforcing the firm’s strategy to bridge legal and tech expertise in patent litigation
The firm posted a 13% increase in profit as well as a rise in overall revenue
Catherine Lee, one of Managing IP’s Top 250 Women in IP 2025, discusses her ‘soft’ approach to leadership and why building a community at work is important
Transactions specialists at Paul Weiss are advising on the high-profile split of Kraft Heinz into two companies, while Skadden is also involved in the deal
Gift this article