The Dilemma of Anti-Suit Injunctions in Cross-Border SEP Disputes: Challenges and Pathways for China

Abstract

Under the background of global competition in international technical standards, anti-suit injunctions have become an instrument for different countries to compete for judicial jurisdiction in transnational disputes involving standard essential patents. In recent years, China has tried to improve its relevant systems and regulations about anti-suit injunctions. An examination of anti-suit injunction practices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany reveals that China faces several challenges: an unclear legal basis, jurisdictional conflicts, the diminished constraining effect of the principle of international comity, and an imbalance between efficiency and fairness in adjudication. These issues are prone to triggering international jurisdictional disputes and restrict the extraterritorial effect of such injunctions. To address these issues, China should ground its approach in domestic judicial practice, clarify the applicable rules of anti-suit injunctions on the legal foundation of the behavior preservation system, strengthen the application of the principle of international comity and international judicial coordination, define the purpose of granting anti-suit injunctions with a focus on improving dispute resolution efficiency, and prudently delineate their territorial and temporal scope to avert international parallel litigation. By doing so, it is possible for China to further improve the anti-suit injunction regime in cross-border standard essential patent disputes, safeguard its judicial sovereignty and the legitimate rights and interests of parties concerned, and adapt to the evolving landscape of international competition in technical standards.