Sales ban for Motorola smartphones and some Lenovo notebooks in Germany
A dispute over payments for the use of mobile phone patents has led to a ban on the sale of Motorola smartphones and Lenovo notebooks with mobile phone modems in Germany. However, products that have already been delivered to retailers may still be sold.
The American patent holder InterDigital has obtained a distribution ban against Lenovo and its mobile subsidiary Motorola Mobility at the Munich Regional Court, as reported by Wirtschaftswoche. According to the court, the tech company infringes the plaintiff's patents for internet access via mobile networks. An appeal is still possible, but after InterDigital posted a deposit of four million euros on 8 May 2024, Lenovo is prohibited from "offering [...] or importing patent-infringing items in Germany".
Longer dispute over patent fees not yet over
The sales ban applies to all devices that contain a so-called WWAN module. This enables mobile internet access via mobile networks. Motorola has currently removed all smartphones from its German website. Lenovo, for its part, can now only offer notebooks that do not have mobile internet access. However, according to Lenovo, the vast majority of its laptop range is available without restrictions. Dealers are still allowed to sell existing stock. However, Lenovo is currently not allowed to supply them with replenishments.
InterDigital is now hoping that Lenovo will change course and expects a fair licence agreement. Lenovo, on the other hand, believes that InterDigital does not want to licence its technology on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms" and is confidently appealing.
Source: Jan Johannsen
The background to this is a long-simmering conflict between Lenovo and InterDigital. In June 2023, however, the UK Supreme Court ruled in favour of Lenovo. According to the decision at the time, "InterDigital's global mobile licence rate should be USD 0.175 per unit". As reported by Wirtschaftswoche, citing industry sources, the US company is said to have significantly increased its demand in the meantime.
In the past, such sales bans were usually limited in time, as the parties reached an agreement in the course of the legal dispute - and often even on worldwide licence fees. This meant that the court decisions, which formally only apply to Germany and are known for their plaintiff-friendliness in patent disputes, also had an impact beyond national borders.
As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.