Finnish mobile communications equipment supplier Nokia and former mobile phone manufacturer Nokia were sued last week by two Chinese smartphone brands Oppo, and OnePlus. They are now under threat of losing their sales because they have violated 5G patents.
Like the portal Last week, Nokia, a network specialist and supplier of mobile communications equipment, received confirmation from the Mannheim Court that Oppo & OnePlus infringe fundamental Nokia patents through the use of certain technologies in smartphones. This is because they don’t pay license fees to Finnish patent providers.
For years, patent litigation has been ongoing
Nokia has confirmed that Oppo uses proprietary technology in its 5G smartphones, without having to pay the license fees. These devices are illegally sold without the required license. This applies to both Oppo’s devices as well as the smartphones under the OnePlus brand. This brand is much more popular in the country and has been absorbed into Oppo. If the parties fail to reach an agreement, there is theoretically a risk of a ban on German sales for certain smartphones manufactured by Oppo or OnePlus.
Oppo however, has filed new appeals in an attempt to avoid such a case. The dispute is, as so often with 5G standards, about “essential patents”. Of course, the judge must decide whether patent protection is possible for certain technologies or if they are too important to allow it. Oppo had in fact already agreed to pay taxes in 2018 on patents involved with Nokia, but these contracts have now expired. After unsuccessful negotiations between the companies, Nokia filed lawsuits against Oppo and OnePlus to force them to agree to pay taxes on the patents.
