Daniel Alexander QC and Isabel Jamal represented ZTE (UK) Limited, the Defendant, in this patent action brought by Vringo Infrastructure Incorporated. The patent provided a method for relocation of protocol termination points in a mobile communication system which was declared essential to the 3GPP standards for UMTS.
Birss J held that the patent as proposed to be amended was valid, essential and infringed by ZTE. An argument raised by ZTE relying on novelty was rejected as the concept of “protocol transparency” was not unambiguously disclosed in the relevant documents. The obviousness attack founded on prior art failed on the basis of a finding that it would not have been obvious to think of using a protocol transparent protocol initialisation unit to relocate the protocol termination point.
Daniel Alexander QC and Isabel Jamal were instructed by Olswang LLP.