In a major escalation of the global standard-essential patent (SEP) disputes, the UK High Court has issued an unprecedented equivalent to an anti-anti-anti-anti-suit injunction (AAAAASI) in favor of Amazon against InterDigital.
On 20 October 2025, Justice Meade of the High Court of Justice for England and Wales granted Amazon an ex parte interim injunction (described by the company as an anti-antisuit injunction – AASI) but which, given the layered nature of the German and UPC orders, has been dubbed the world’s first AAAAASI in a SEP context. This order bars InterDigital from seeking, in any court outside the UK, measures that would restrain Amazon from pursuing its requested relief in the UK FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) proceedings.
The Judge’s injunction warns on severe penalties including fines, imprisonment, or asset confiscation for noncompliance by InterDigital or its officers. The order leaves InterDigital facing a strategic dilemma: risk contempt of court in the UK or abandoning its European injunctions. In turn, Amazon faces a similar similar situation before the UPC, given that the AAAAASI would be considered a violation of the Court’s orders subject to the corresponding sanctions.
The decision underscores the UK’s growing assertiveness in setting global FRAND terms and intensifies the jurisdictional conflict between the UK and continental Europe. Analysts view the move as both a bold defense of UK judicial authority and a potential flashpoint in the ongoing “antisuit wars” shaping the future of SEP licensing.
