Recently, the Mannheim Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) issued a written warning to Amazon: Should Amazon persist in attempting to use UK court proceedings to obstruct InterDigital's enforcement actions before the UPC, it will face severe sanctions.

The order issued clearly delineates the boundaries for seeking injunctions and FRAND relief in the UK, establishing red lines for UPC enforcement. Under this order, Amazon must withdraw or amend its injunction requests filed in the UK, or risk fines of up to €50 million. Furthermore, should the UK High Court impose coercive measures against InterDigital, Amazon could face additional legal consequences. The UPC order also directly challenges High Court Judge Richard Meade's description of the sequence of key events, asserting discrepancies between the factual circumstances and the UK court's account.

The current situation places Amazon under urgent legal pressure. Under the UPC's established timeline, the next critical deadline is February 25, 2026. After this date, sanctions could be swiftly imposed if Amazon fails to comply. This case not only involves a patent licensing dispute between two companies but has also drawn the attention of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade regarding the escalating jurisdictional conflict between the UPC and UK courts.

Case Background

On August 29, 2025, Amazon filed a patent infringement lawsuit against InterDigital in the UK High Court, case number HP-2025-000043;

On October 2, 2025, InterDigital countered by obtaining “Anti-Injunctions in Lieu of Licenses” (AILI) from both the Mannheim Regional Division of the UPC and Munich Regional Court No. 1. These injunctions prohibit Amazon from seeking compulsory licenses or declarations of InterDigital's FRAND obligation breaches in the High Court of England and Wales (EWHC). The Munich Regional Court injunction further included a clause imposing “a maximum penalty of €250,000 per infringement”;

On October 20, 2025, Amazon sought relief from the High Court of Justice of England and Wales (EWHC), obtaining an “interim anti-injunction injunction” issued by Judge Meade;

On November 10, 2025, InterDigital announced lawsuits against Amazon in the Mannheim Regional Division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), Munich Regional Court, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, and the Rio de Janeiro Court in Brazil, alleging ongoing infringement of its ten video content compression technology patents through devices like Fire TV and Kindle, as well as services such as Prime Video;

December 22, 2025: The Mannheim Regional Division of the UPC upheld its earlier Anti-Interim License Injunction (AILI) and imposed a maximum fine of €50 million on Amazon, explicitly refusing to recognize the interim license imposed by the UK court. Additionally, on December 24, it notified the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade, recommending action against the UK at the WTO level.