Supreme Court rules in Tesla v InterDigital and Avanci
The UK Supreme Court handed down judgment on 27 July 2026 in a FRAND licensing dispute described as of great importance to vehicle innovators and implementers.
Tesla, Inc and another v InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc and others [2026] UKSC 27 was decided on 27 July 2026 by Lord Sales, Lord Briggs, Lord Hamblen, Lord Burrows and Lord Kitchin, following a three-day hearing in April 2026 on appeal from the Court of Appeal.
The court described the appeal as raising issues of great importance for all those innovators and implementers concerned with the production and operation of vehicles, in the context of standard-essential patents and licensing pools.
The scale of the argument is visible in the line-up: multiple KCs for each side, plus written interventions from the International Center for Law & Economics, the CCIA, the Motion Picture Association, the App Association and the Fair Standards Alliance.
Standards-based patent disputes escalate through three tiers of court and run for years. Defence limits need to survive that arc, which is why we consider defence cover up to £5m rather than a token legal-expenses figure.
DEFENCE UP TO £5M · PURSUIT UP TO £1M IN YEAR ONE · PURSUIT ONLY WITH DEFENCE
SOURCE: UK Supreme Court judgment (PDF)
Summarised for general information only. Nothing here is legal advice or a statement of policy terms – cover is subject to underwriting and the policy wording.