The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) today handed down its much-awaited decision in the Huawei v. ZTE dispute, in which it was asked to clarify whether and when standard essential patent (SEP) owners may seek and obtain injunctive relief.

The Court sought to strike a balance between the interests of implementers and consumers, on the one hand, and innovative SEP owners, on the other hand. In doing so, it tried to lay down guidelines of behaviour for both parties to follow, which make implementers immune from the threat of an injunction, and provide a safe harbour from antitrust enforcement to patentees.