Chinese smartphone maker Oppo loses to Nokia in patent infringement case in Germany, potentially affecting sales
- The sales of some of Oppo’s OnePlus and self-branded handsets could be impacted after the Chinese company lost a patent infringement suit for the second time
- Oppo is the fourth-largest smartphone brand in Europe, behind only Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi
Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has lost a legal battle in a patent dispute with Nokia, which may prevent the Chinese smartphone company from selling certain OnePlus and self-branded handsets in Germany.
A regional court in the southwestern German city of Mannheim ruled in favour of the Finnish telecoms giant for the second time, determining that Oppo’s use of certain 4G and 5G telecoms technologies infringed on Nokia’s patents, the company said in a statement. The court issued its first ruling against Oppo, which covered Nokia’s Wi-fi patents, in June.
The court found that “Oppo is using Nokia’s patented technologies in its smartphones and is selling them illegally without a license”, Nokia said in a statement. The Finnish firm added that Oppo has refused to agree to fair licensing terms and turned down proposals to arbitrate the disagreement.
The ruling could bar certain handsets from Oppo that use the disputed technologies from being sold in Germany, according to a report from Nokiamob.net, a website dedicated to Nokia-related news. This includes certain OnePlus models, an Oppo-owned brand that is popular in Europe.
Oppo made up 6 per cent of Europe’s smartphone market in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research, following Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case is just one of the latest intellectual property disputes between Chinese smartphone makers and overseas technology companies.
