Smartphone firms halt German sales after Nokia SEP win
Two key players forced to withdraw smartphones and smartwatches from market | SEP dispute concerns 4G technology | Two separate patent cases between the parties stayed.
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo and its subsidiary OnePlus have stopped selling their smartphones and smartwatches in Germany after losing a patent clash with Nokia concerning 4G SEPs.
Late last week, Friday August 5, the Regional Court in Munich ruled on two separate cases in the dispute and granted two more injunctions against Oppo.
The court concluded that Oppo had infringed two Nokia patents: EP2,080,193 (which discloses an improved pitch lag estimation in audio signals for audio coding) and EP3,557,917 (which discloses the flexible allocation of resources with “keep awake messages” in discontinuous communications).
According to Nokia, Oppo was found to be an unwilling licensee. Oppo’s German site now states that product information is not available on the website.
A Nokia spokesperson said: “This is the third time that the courts in Germany have ruled that Oppo is using Nokia’s patented technologies in its smartphones and is selling them illegally without a licence.
“The court also found that Nokia has acted fairly. We hope that Oppo accepts its obligations and, like its competitors, renews its licence on fair terms.”
‘Healthy IP ecosystem’
In an official statement, Oppo said it is working to resolve the matter: “As an owner of many 5G patents, Oppo highly values the role of intellectual property in innovation. We have a history of establishing cross-licensing agreements with many leading companies and are committed to promoting a healthy intellectual property ecosystem.
“The day after Oppo and Nokia’s 4G contract expired, Nokia immediately went to court after asking for an unreasonably high renewal fee.
“Our long-term commitment to the German market remains the same and we are proactively working with relevant parties to resolve the ongoing matter.
“Aside from sales and marketing of relevant products being put on hold over Oppo-owned channels, Oppo will continue operations in Germany.
“In the meantime, users can continue using Oppo products, access after-sales services, receive future OS updates, and more.”
‘Fair access to essential patents’
Meanwhile, in an emailed response to WIPR’s request for comment, OnePlus echoed much of what its parent company Oppo said.
“OnePlus diligently complies with the laws and regulations in all markets where we operate. As a leading technology brand, we recognise the importance of intellectual property in driving innovation and highly value fair access to essential patents.
“Nokia’s demand for an unreasonably high fee is detrimental to this effect. We are actively working with the relevant parties to resolve the ongoing legal matter.
“While sales and marketing of the relevant products are on hold, OnePlus remains committed to the German market and will continue our operations.
“Meanwhile, OnePlus users in Germany can continue to enjoy our products and related services such as regular software updates and our after-sales service as before.
“The injunction is only limited to the sales and marketing of certain products in Germany and no other European market is impacted.”
Previously, Nokia secured two victories over Oppo in Germany. In late June, the Mannheim Regional Court's Second Civil Chamber granted an injunction against a Wi-Fi-related patent.
Then, in early July, the same court entered a patent infringement judgment and granted an injunction in relation to two cellular SEPs from the same patent family.
Proceedings stayed
While Nokia has found victory in Munich, it’s not quite the same story in Dusseldorf.
Yesterday, August 9, the Dusseldorf Regional Court stayed two patent cases between Nokia and Oppo, to enable the Federal Patent Court to rule on their validity.
The two patents at issue in the cases are EP17,41,183 and EP17,28,352, and are both implementation patents rather than standard-essential patents (SEPs).
The ‘183 patent discloses secure data transfer of user data between devices using symmetric and asymmetric encryption, while the '352 patent discloses secure data transfer of user data between devices using asymmetric encryption.
On this matter, OPPO spokesperson Peter Manderfeld told WIPR: “We will not comment on the matter until a final decision has been made by a court.”
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