Prof. Jorge Contreras Cited in UK Court of Appeal Opinion in Tesla v. Interdigital and Avanci

Visiting Professor Jorge Contreras's expert report in the UK branch of the global litigation between Tesla Motors and InterDigital and Avanci was cited more than a dozen times in the Court of Appeal opinion delivered on March 6, 2025 by Lord Justice Richard Arnold ([2025] EWCA Civ 193, ¶¶ 131-148). The case concerns InterDigital's and Avanci's commitment to license patents essential to the 5G wireless telecommunications standard to Tesla on terms that are "fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory" (FRAND). Prof. Contreras's report focused on the whether U.S. courts would be likely to adjudicate a global FRAND royalty rate for such a license, thereby rendering the UK court's assumption of jurisdiction over a global rate determination unnecessary or improper. His analysis of recent U.S. case law indicated that U.S. courts have not undertaken to establish global FRAND royalty rates unless both parties have consented that they do so, suggesting that a UK court's determination of such a global royalty rate would not be duplicative of the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts. The majority of the Court of Appeal, however, rejected jurisdiction in the UK on other grounds.