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25 November 2022PatentsStaff Writer

Indian court rejects Nokia bid in SEP clash

Lawsuit focuses on patents related to cellular systems | Latest ruling is part of a global litigation battle over licensing terms | Nokia | Oppo.

The Delhi High Court has refused Nokia’s attempt to obtain a deposit from Chinese smartphone maker Oppo as the standard-essential patent (SEP) infringement clash plays out in India.

In a decision handed down last week and published on Wednesday, November 23, in redacted form, the High Court denied Nokia’s pre-trial motion which would have forced Oppo to make a deposit of patent royalties during the pendency of the infringement litigation.

The infringement suit focuses on three Indian patents, each of which are SEPs and necessary for making cellular systems 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G compliant.

Nokia had urged the court to order Oppo to pay a royalty in an amount which, according to Nokia, would represent the royalty, at fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) rates, on payment of which Oppo could be granted a licence to use the three patents.

The telecoms company submitted its application under Order XXXIX Rule 102 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), which states: “Where the subject-matter of a suit is money or some other thing capable of delivery and any party thereto admits that he holds such money or other thing as a trustee for another party, or that it belongs or is due to another party, the court may order the same to be deposited in court or delivered to such last-named party, with or without security, subject to the further direction of the court.”

Nokia argued that Oppo had previously obtained a licence to use its SEPs and had paid royalties at FRAND rates, but this had expired last year.

The smartphone maker held that Oppo had proceeded to infringe the patents because it had not renewed or taken out a new licence.

‘Fundamentally misconceived’

However, Justice C. Hari Shankar rejected the motion, stating that: “The entire application is, clearly, fundamentally misconceived.”

The judge clarified that the order only concerns Nokia’s application for a deposit, on the basis of the material available on record at this point, and is “not to be read as an expression of opinion, even tentative regarding the rival claims of the parties before me for any other purpose”.

According to the judge, for the provision of Order XXXIX Rule 10 apply, the other party to the suit (Oppo in this case) must admit that either it holds the money or other thing as a trustee for the other party, or (ii) such money or other thing belongs to the other party or (iii) such money or other thing is due to the other party.

“No such unequivocal admission of liability can be said to exist in the present case,” said Shankar. “Suffice it to state, that even if the present plaint were to be considered as encompassing the entire SEP portfolio of Nokia, no case for directing interim payment under Order XXXIX Rule 10 of the CPC can be said to exist.”

A long-running battle

The order represents the latest development in the long-running and global battle between Nokia and Oppo.

Earlier this month, the English High Court concluded that Oppo had infringed one of Nokia’s patents covering transmission signals in mobile phones.

Commenting on that win, a Nokia spokesperson told WIPR: “Courts in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK have all found Oppo has infringed Nokia’s patented technologies in its smartphones. It’s time for Oppo to play by the rules and renew its licence on fair terms.”

In August, Oppo and its subsidiary OnePlus stopped selling their smartphones and smartwatches in Germany after losing a patent clash with Nokia concerning 4G SEPs.

WIPR has approached Nokia and Oppo for comment.

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