vivo halts sales in Germany over Nokia lawsuit

The District Court of Mannheim, Germany has ruled in favor of Nokia in a patent case against vivo. The lawsuit concerns a Nokia 4G standard-essential patent (SEP) and could see vivo forced out of the German market. Nokia previously won cases against Oppo and OnePlus over the same SEPs which resulted in a ban on the sale of Oppo and OnePlus devices in Germany.

vivo issued an official statement confirming it will pause sales and marketing of affected products via official vivo Germany channels. The company is also ready to appeal the court decision and is continuing to negotiate a new IP deal with Nokia.

The official statement also includes comments on Nokia’s lack of offering fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms on negotiating a deal. Users can still purchase vivo products via official channels and third-party resellers in Germany. vivo assured its long-term commitment to the German market is unchanged and that its customers can rely on its services going forward.

Source (in German)