Nokia says Oppo can avoid sales ban by renewing its license on fair terms
In early August, the Munich 1 Regional Court imposed asales ban on Oppo and OnePlus in Germanyfollowing a patent dispute with Nokia. This was after the BBK-owned companies failed to negotiate and renew their 4G cross-licensing agreement with the Finnish giant, which, according to Oppo, was asking for an unreasonably high renewal licensing fee. Back then, Oppo confirmed to us that it had no intention of exiting the German market and was working with all the parties involved to resolve the issue. Nokia has now reached out to us with its side of the story.
The Finnish company confirmed that the Mannheim Regional Court ruled in its favor on June 21 and the Munich Regional Court on August 5, following which the sales ban was implemented. These courts found Oppo illegally using Nokia’s patented technologies in its smartphones. The company believes the easiest way for Oppo to resolve the dispute is by renewing the license on fair terms. Nokia also offered Oppo an independent and neutral arbitration, but the latter rejected it.
Oppo ships around 200 million smartphones annually, with around two million units estimated to ship in Germany. AsWinFuturepreviously reported, Nokia has demanded that Oppo and OnePlus pay €2.50 per smartphone sold as licensing fees. The problem is that to adhere to the German laws, the BBK-owned companies would have to enter into a worldwide agreement with Nokia and pay the licensing fees on the smartphones sold worldwide. So, to sell those two million smartphones, the company would have to either take a hit on its bottom line or increase the prices of its products worldwide.
Apart from Germany, Nokia is also taking legal action against Oppo and other BBK-owned companies in France, the UK, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, and India. If the Finnish giant can secure a sales ban in India, Oppo and other BBK companies won’t have a choice but to negotiate the licensing terms quickly. That’s because India is an important market for BBK, with Realme, OnePlus, and Oppo all being significant players in the country.
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