As predicted by ip fray on April 10, 2025, the European Union (EU) has confirmed on April 22, 2025 it lost the World Trade Organization (WTO) proceedings against China over anti-suit injunctions (ASIs) for standard essential patents (SEPs). The EU is appealing. In August 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court decided that Chinese courts can prohibit patent holders from going to a non-Chinese court to enforce their patents by putting in place an “anti-suit injunction”. The Supreme People’s Court also decided that violation of the order can be sanctioned with a 1 million RMB daily fine. Since then, Chinese courts have adopted several additional anti-suit injunctions against foreign patent holders leading to the current dispute.

Per the EU, 

[T]he WTO panel upheld the EU’s case by acknowledging that China has developed a policy of limiting intellectual property rights, starting with the guidelines of the Supreme People’s Court, supported by the political level and implemented by the judiciary through several court judgments. It also found that China must be more transparent by transmitting to the EU and other WTO members information on intellectual property matters, including court judgements. 

However, the panel did not follow the EU’s interpretation of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement as requiring China to refrain from adopting or maintaining measures that undermine other WTO members’ implementation of the agreement in their jurisdictions. According to the panel, the TRIPS Agreement does not contain an obligation for WTO members to abstain from adopting measures that prevent other WTO members from implementing it in their own territories. 

China’s Ministry of Commerce responded on April 23, 2025:

China has always attached great importance to intellectual property protection and its achievements are obvious to all. China is pleased to see that the WTO expert group supports China’s claims. China has received the EU’s appeal request and will handle it in accordance with the relevant rules of the MPIA to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

An additional WTO complaint filed by the EU against China continues to proceed regarding setting global royalty rates for SEPs in DS632.

The EU appeal can be found here (English) and China’s response as reported by Xinhua here (Chinese).