Zhang Guangliang and Geng Bang have published an article titled A Study on Regional Discounts on SEP Royalty Rates, China Patents & Trademarks No. 2, 2026, pp. 35-46 (Chinese original at pp. 26-35). The authors note that U.K., U.S., and Chinese decisions establishing global FRAND royalty rates have applied regional discounts, but that the legal basis for doing so “still lacks elaboration,” and that courts have not explained the reasons for providing discounts and the relevant factors. The authors seek to fill this gap, first by tying the practice of regional discounts to the principle of territoriality, which they argue permits countries to craft practices that are tailored to their stage of development (subject, of course, to international obligations) and which results in a geographic distribution of patents that varies from one region to another. In addition, implementers “tend to adopt differentiated product pricing strategies for different regions so as to accord with the actual demands of local markets.” Consequently, the authors argue, courts should consider “three major factors . . . when determining regional discounts”: differences in the geographic distribution of patents and of products sold by implementers, and “other factors including the differences in market competition and economic development.” They then provide some examples of how their methodology would work in practice.
Also in this issue of China Patents & Trademarks is an article by Rui Songyan titled Adjudication Logic and Rules for SEP Infringement Cases (pp. 13-25, Chinese original at pp. 3-12).
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