The future of SEP litigation lies in a hybrid model: Justice Amit Bansal
August 23, 2025
Justice Bansal advocates alternate framework to accelerate dispute resolution as India targets 10,000 patents for 6G leadership
New Delhi, 23 August 2025: India's approach to Standard Essential Patent (SEP) disputes should embrace a hybrid model combining judicial oversight with arbitration mechanisms to reduce litigation friction and accelerate commercial settlements, according to Justice Amit Bansal of the Delhi High Court.
Speaking at Conference on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) organised by FICCI and ICRIER, Justice Bansal outlined a framework where courts and arbitral tribunals would "front load structure, facilitating focused negotiations, taking narrow issues first, and reserving full trials only for what truly remains."
The proposal comes as India positions itself as a global innovation hub under its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, with ambitions to secure 10 per cent of the world's 6G patents and play a constructive role in shaping standards for transformative technologies including telecommunications, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and IoT.
"In my view, the future of SEP litigation lies in a hybrid model," Justice Bansal told the conference. "Our courts, bar and expert community have already shown the discipline and imagination to make this work."
The judge advocated for a segmented approach beginning with FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) rate determination, potentially through arbitration, before proceeding to validity and infringement issues. "Knowing the likely royalty encourages principled compromise and clears the fog that too often stalls talks," he said.
India's strategic imperative in SEPs has intensified given its position as the world's second-largest telecommunications market and home to over 100,000 recognised startups and more than 100 unicorns. However, the country's private sector R&D investment remains below 0.3 per cent of GDP, with total R&D expenditure stagnating at 0.64 per cent for over a decade.
Ameet Datta, Co-Chair of FICCI's IPR Committee and Managing Counsel at ADP Law Offices, opened the conference by highlighting the strategic significance of SEPs for India's innovation future. "As India charts its vision for Viksit Bharat at 2047, SEPs will play a pivotal role in ensuring that our enterprises are not merely technology adopters but also standard setters making meaningful contributions to the global IP landscape," Dutta said.
He emphasised the urgent need to build awareness on intellectual property rights within India's research community and amongst technology pioneers, particularly focusing on the startup and SME sectors that comprise the country's vibrant entrepreneurial landscape.
Payal Malik, Professor (Visiting) ICRIER and Former Advisor and Head, Economics, Competition Commission of India, warned that without an enabling ecosystem encouraging patent creation and active participation in global standard setting, "India risks remaining a net implementer rather than a technology creator."
The conference highlighted both opportunities and challenges in India's SEP landscape. A.K. Mittal, Director General of the Telecommunications Standards Development Society India (TSDSI), noted that whilst telecommunications represents "the most organised standard development industry," success in global bodies like 3GPP requires collaboration and networking beyond individual proposals.
"Whatever you take, majority of it is not accepted there," Mittal explained, emphasising the need for strategic alliances in standard-setting processes where "850 plus companies from across the world are members of 3GPP."
Justice Bansal's hybrid model would feature "fast track and discipline tight timelines, panels that blend judicial temperament with technical and licensing expertise, consolidation to avoid serial proceedings, and reasoned awards enforceable under the New York Convention."
The approach addresses current challenges in SEP litigation including prolonged negotiations that can extend up to eight years, roster changes that disrupt proceedings, and the country's low judge-to-population ratio that complicates interim relief applications.
Pravin Anand, Member, FICCI IPR Committee & Managing Partner & Head of Litigation, Anand & Anand, stressed the need for legislative agility, noting that India currently lacks "the ability to amend a flawed law" efficiently, pointing to provisions in the Trademarks Act that have remained problematic for 25 years.
The government has allocated ₹10,000 crores for 6G R&D and established the Anusandhan National Research Foundation with a proposed ₹100,000 crore research and innovation fund. However, speakers emphasised that achieving India's innovation goals requires addressing structural failures including fragmented coordination amongst actors, weak absorptive capacity in industry, and the absence of coherent long-term policy. The hybrid litigation model proposed by Justice Bansal represents a potential cornerstone of this ecosystem, promising to transform friction into flow whilst keeping "justice in the courtroom, economics at the table and innovation firmly on the reins."
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