WTO establishes panel to probe China’s global SEP licensing authority

The ruling will define the boundaries of national court jurisdiction in global technology licensing. If the WTO limits a court's ability to set worldwide rates without bilateral consent, it could force a shift toward international arbitration for patent-heavy streaming protocols and codecs. This directly impacts B2B licensing costs for 5G/6G hardware and video delivery standards used across the streaming ecosystem. Watch for the WTO panel’s preliminary report in late 2026 for signals on how it balances territoriality with global FRAND commitments.

The establishment of the DS632 panel follows a separate victory for the EU in July 2025 regarding China’s anti-suit injunction (ASI) policy. In that dispute, DS611, a WTO appeal arbitrator found that China’s use of ASIs—which prohibited patent holders from litigating in foreign courts—violated TRIPS transparency and enforcement rules. Per EU Reporter in April 2026, China officially withdrew its unwritten ASI policy in response to the ruling, though the European Commission continues to monitor implementation to ensure Chinese courts do not leverage similar informal pressures against EU firms.

While the EU pursues litigation against China, its internal regulatory environment for SEPs remains in flux. Per Eversheds Sutherland in May 2026, the European Commission formally withdrew its proposed ‘SEP Regulation’ in 2025 after failing to find agreement among member states. The proposal originally sought to introduce a central registry and mandatory FRAND determination procedures at the EUIPO. The withdrawal has shifted the focus back to national courts and the Unified Patent Court, which has aggressively asserted its own jurisdiction over European patents, creating potential conflict with the WTO positions the EU is currently advocating in DS632.

Technological development continues to move ahead of the legal framework as industry bodies prepare for 6G. Per Ericsson in February 2026, new contributions to ETSI suggest improving dispute resolution by encouraging members to use specialized third-party mediation. As AI becomes foundational to 6G architecture, ETSI and the European Patent Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding in late 2025 to link their databases, aiming to increase transparency for innovators and avoid the protracted litigation cycles seen in the 5G era.