Ban on HTC smartphones looms in Germany
Patent licensing company IPCom is ready to enforce a patent infringement ruling against the Taiwanese handset maker, which dropped an appeal in a long-running legal case.
HTC may not be able to sell smartphones in Germany in the run-up to Christmas, after the patent licensing company IPCom said it would start enforcing an earlier infringement ruling against HTC.
The judgment was actually handed down almost three years ago, when a Mannheim court said HTC was infringing on a crucial mobile telephony patent that IPCom acquired from Bosch. HTC appealed, putting off the effects of the judgment, and that appeal was due to be played out in court starting today.
However, the Taiwanese manufacturer dropped its appeal at the 11th hour. Although HTC disputes this interpretation, IPCom claimed victory, saying on Friday that it "intends to execute this injunction in the shortest possible time."
Read more of "HTC faces German sales ban after patent battle" at ZDNet UK.