Triumph for Tesla as top court rules 5G licensing case should be heard in UK
The UK’s highest court has given the green light for Tesla to revive a lawsuit over 5G licensing in its electric cars, after the case was previously dismissed by a panel of judges three years ago.
Elon Musk’s carmaker, one of the largest global manufacturers of electric vehicles, sued Avanci, a Texan company that supplies patent licensing, and US technology firm InterDigital at the English High Court in 2023.
The car giant was seeking a patent license – a legal agreement – for using 5G in its cars in the UK, which is Tesla’s fourth biggest market.
Tesla claims it has been unfairly penalised by Avanci and is asking the courts to determine a fair price for the licensing deal. In a previous hearing in 2024, Musk’s carmaker argued in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court that Avanci had to offer a license on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.
The defendant had alleged Tesla’s claim was a “jurisdictional hook and an abuse of process”.
The court threw out the carmaker’s argument, as it did not believe there were serious issues to be tried against both Avanci and InterDigital, and made a costs order against Tesla. It said the case should instead be heard in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, not in the UK, as all the parties involved were legally tied to the States.
Tesla appealed against the ruling in December 2024, and in early 2025, a split decision was handed down, finding that whilst the majority of the carmaker’s appeal was dismissed, one of the judges, Lord Justice Arnold, said the UK courts should have allowed Tesla’s claim to go to a full trial.
John Brunner, partner at Carpmaels & Ransford and head of the Patent Tech Group, said with this judgment the English courts “have made themselves the forum of choice for standard-essential patent licensing disputes.”
Court ‘misidentified’ that England cannot hear case
On Monday, the Supreme Court allowed Tesla’s case to proceed in full through the English courts.
Lord Justice Hamblen, who led the decision, said the judges had “misidentified” the claim that the Delaware Court of Chancery was better suited to hear Tesla’s case, and said the court “considers the claims do so relate” to UK patent rights, so therefore the case can proceed to be heard in the English courts.
“The court holds that Tesla has a real prospect of securing the declarations they seek, against both InterDigital and Avanci”, Lord Justice Hamblen told the court on Monday.
Hamblen added that the carmaker “has a legitimate purpose” in bringing their case, and that the case should be upheld as the company “encourages wider investment, innovation, and development” in the electric vehicle market by bringing 5G to its cars in the UK.
Tesla, Avanci, and InterDigital did not respond to a request for comment.