WIPO Hosts SEP and Dispute Resolution Symposium in Geneva on 12–13 October 2026

On 12–13 October 2026, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held its "Standards Essential Patents and Dispute Resolution Symposium" in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme "Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together." According to the programme prepared by the WIPO International Bureau, the symposium addressed judicial adjudication methods in the SEP field, multi-jurisdictional litigation strategies, FRAND determination, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and SEP-related WTO disputes.

Background and Objectives

The symposium was hosted by WIPO as a two-day event, structured around a sporting metaphor, with sessions named "The Arena," "The Game Plan," "The International Piste," "The Tiebreak," and "The Global Scoreboard." It aimed to bring together professionals from the global judiciary, industry, academia, and international organizations to exchange views on the latest practices, information transparency, access to legal information, and dispute resolution mechanisms in the SEP and FRAND licensing field.

Andras Jokuti, Director of the WIPO Patent and Technology Law Division, moderated the opening and several sessions. Nina Belbl, Legal Officer in the WIPO Patent and Technology Law Division, presented WIPO's SEP strategy and moderated sessions including "The Game Plan," "The Post-Match Analysis," and "The Global Scoreboard."

Day One: SEP Information, Data, and Transparency

The afternoon of Day One focused on WIPO's SEP initiatives and current work. Magdalena Zelenkovska, Head of the WIPO Patent Database Section, presented PATENTSCOPE and discussed the SEP information landscape. According to her speaker profile, she has recently advanced the integration of standard essentiality information into PATENTSCOPE to enhance the platform's ability to help users navigate the complex intersection of patents and technical standards. Ty Gray, Head of the WIPO Lex Section, presented the WIPO Lex SEP case law compilation. Carsten Fink, WIPO Chief Economist, presented the key findings of the FRAND report.

Four parallel workshops followed, all conducted under the Chatham House Rule and in person only, covering: SEP information, data, and transparency; the legal landscape and access to legal information; FRAND practices; and emerging practice needs and areas for further exploration. The workshops addressed specific questions such as what information is most useful in practice, where the main transparency gaps lie, and how existing resources such as PATENTSCOPE can help.

Day Two: Judicial Adjudication, Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation, and ADR

Day Two opened with remarks by Laura Peter, Deputy Director General of the WIPO Patents and Technology Sector. Peter has over 30 years of administrative, legal, and policy experience and previously served as Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The Arena – How Courts Adjudicate SEP Disputes

The first morning session brought together judges from six jurisdictions: Fadila Fidel, Chief Judge of the Commercial Court of Casablanca, Morocco; James Mellor, Judge of the High Court of England and Wales; Prathiba Singh, Judge of the Delhi High Court, India; Peter Tochtermann, Presiding Judge of the Mannheim Local Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), Germany; Victor Torres, Judge of the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Sungyop Woo, Judge of the Intellectual Property High Court of Korea. The session was moderated by Andras Jokuti.

The Game Plan – Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation Strategies

Nina Belbl then moderated the "Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation Strategies" session, which brought together in-house counsel from both patent holders and implementers, including Stephen J. Akerley, Vice President and Global Head of Litigation at InterDigital; Ray Bennett, Executive Director of Global Litigation at Lenovo; Robert Earle, Vice President of IP and Licensing Assertion and Enforcement at Ericsson; and Jon Chow, Associate Chief Counsel of Litigation and Patents at The Walt Disney Company.

Post-Match Analysis, WTO Disputes, and ADR

In the "Post-Match Analysis – Fireside Reflections" session, Sanat Bathla, Legal Counsel at FairPhone, and Andrei Iancu, Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and former USPTO Director, held a conversation. Speaking from the perspective of a small and medium-sized enterprise implementer, Bathla noted that for smaller companies, licensing standardized technology presents challenges including limited visibility into which patents are truly essential, a fragmented licensing landscape, and the cost and complexity of negotiations.

The afternoon "International Piste" session featured Daniel J. Gervais, Professor of Law (Emeritus) at Vanderbilt University, analyzing SEP-related WTO disputes. The "Tiebreak – ADR in FRAND Disputes" session was moderated by Andras Jokuti and included Chen Le, Senior Director of IP Policy and Dispute Resolution at Xiaomi; Clemens Heusch, Vice President and Global Head of Litigation at Nokia; Naoyuki Iwai, Chief Judge of the Tokyo District Court, Japan; and Heike Wollgast, Head of the IP and Disputes Section at the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

The Global Scoreboard – Assessing FRAND

The final substantive session, "The Global Scoreboard – Assessing FRAND," was moderated by Nina Belbl and brought together Du Weike, Deputy Chief Judge of the Third Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court of China; James Mellor, Judge of the High Court of England and Wales; Oliver Schön, Presiding Judge of the 7th Civil Chamber of the Munich Regional Court, Germany; and James V. Selna, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. According to his speaker profile, Judge Selna recently presided over TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd. v. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, which involved two competing approaches to determining FRAND royalty rates: the top-down approach (TCL) and the comparable licenses approach (Ericsson). Judge Schön's court, the Munich Regional Court I, has been described as the busiest patent infringement court in the Western world, receiving more than 330 new cases in 2025.

Format and Rules

The working language of the symposium was English. The parallel workshops were conducted under the Chatham House Rule and in person only; discussions may be cited, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of speakers may be revealed. The concluding session reviewed, on a non-attribution basis, recurring practical issues and areas that may warrant further consideration or consultation.

The programme design reflects WIPO's efforts in the SEP field to promote multi-stakeholder dialogue, enhance information transparency and access to legal information, and explore dispute resolution mechanisms. The symposium is expected to provide an important platform for exchange on practical developments in the SEP and FRAND field.

[Attachment]  Original Programme