On January 20, 2026, the Intellectual Property Division of the Tokyo District Court of Japan (Civil Departments 29, 40, 46, and 47) officially released the "Guidelines on the Trial Essentials for Standard Essential Patent (SEP) Infringement Litigation," which took effect from January 2026.

Strategically, the guidelines position litigation as a "global FRAND negotiation platform." This approach aims to avoid the costs and uncertainties associated with repetitive litigation and negotiations across multiple countries. Procedurally, the court typically proposes settlement suggestions during the first hearing. The court's stance on extreme strategies, such as "Patent Hold-up" and "Patent Hold-out," is aimed at eliminating such behaviors.

Thus, negotiation conduct itself is considered part of the litigation evidence. Consequently, the reasonableness and justifiability of actions, in line with the court's expectations for FRAND negotiation order, will become the determining factors for the outcome of SEP litigation.

The original text for reference is as follows: