The Delhi High Court has reportedly put a halt to Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi by passing an ex parte injunction for allegedly infringing on Ericsson’s Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), which are subject to FRAND (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) terms.
The ex parte injunction stops the Chinese phonemaker from “selling, advertising, manufacturing or importing devices” that infringe upon Ericsson’s patents.
The judge also directed the Customs officials to stop the imports under the IPR Rules, 2007. Moreover, local commissioners have been appointed to visit Xiaomi officers to ensure the implementation of these orders.
A similar case was filed by Ericsson against Micromax last year, seeking a whopping Rs 100 crore in damages.
Micromax had responded with counter-allegations that Ericsson was abusing its dominant position in charging higher royalty on GSM technology patents, and the Competition Commission of India had said it would look into the matter.
The Swedish telecommunication giant also sued Samsung in 2012 for infringing on its ‘voice transmission, touchscreen functions and network efficiency’ patents, and the two had ended their bitter feud in 2014 with a cross-licensing agreement and Samsung paying out $650 million plus royalties to Ericsson.
Xiaomi India head Manu Jain, in an email to NDTV Gadgets has responsed to the Delhi High Court injunction:
“While we haven’t received an official notice from the Delhi High Court, our legal team is currently evaluating the situation based on the information we have.
India is a very important market for Xiaomi and we will respond promptly as needed and in full compliance with Indian laws. Moreover, we are open to working with Ericsson to resolve this matter amicably.”
Xiaomi has been in the thick of controversies ever since it has entered the Indian market this year, with allegations of creating a false scarcity of its products to create hype and a warning issued by Indian Air Force (IAF) for sending sensitive data back to its Chinese servers. What move will the Chinese phone manufacturer have up its sleeve now is yet to be seen.