Chinese smartphone maker Oppo and its sub-brand OnePlus have withdrawn their devices from sale in Germany after losing a legal battle with Nokia over alleged patent violations.
Nokia accused the two vendors of using their 4G and 5G innovations in their mobile phones without a license and successfully defended an injunction to sell at the Mannheim Regional Court.
"This is the third time that German courts have ruled that Oppo has used Nokia's proprietary technologies in its smartphones and illegally sold them without a license," a Nokia spokesperson told TechRadar.
EU-China patent dispute
“The Court also found that Nokia acted fairly. We expect Oppo to accept its obligations and, like its competitors, renew its license on fair terms.
The patents in question are Standards Essential Patents (SEPs), which are innovations that have contributed to industry standards, such as 5G, and can be used by anyone else as long as they pay a fair price for the privilege. These rates are called fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) conditions.
In effect, this means that anyone who uses a SEP in their product pays a royalty to the patent owner.
Legal disputes over SEPs are not uncommon, and some companies with large SEP portfolios often introduce royalty caps to minimize the likelihood of going to court. For example, Huawei capped its royalties at €2,50 per device and Nokia imposed a cap of €3,57.
Oppo and OnePlus complied with the order and blamed Nokia's unreasonable demands for the litigation. They said they hoped to resolve the issue, adding that they were still committed to the German market.
Via The Verge (Opens in a new tab)