Xiaomi reportedly banned from selling smartphones in India due to patent issues
The Chinese handset maker has supposedly been served with an injunction and will be unable to import or sell its smartphones until infringement issues with Ericsson are resolved.
India may be Xiaomi's biggest market outside of China, but the Chinese smartphone maker is reportedly facing some issues. According to a report by SpicyIP, Xiaomi has been served with an injunction that prohibits the sale, advertising, manufacturing and import of devices that infringe upon the telecom giant Ericsson.
The same report says that one of the reasons the injunction was granted was because Xiaomi did not respond to Ericsson's six requests for communications (since July 2014). Interestingly the report ends with a note that the injunction granted by the Delhi High Courts "is not in conformance with either international practice or domestic local law".
We've reached out to Xiaomi and received a statement from Manu Jain, Xiaomi India's head, who said that the company has yet to receive an official notice from the Delhi High Court and is that Xiaomi India is currently evaluating the situation.
"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," he added.
The Chinese smartphone maker sees India as a very important market. It recently put plans for expansion into other countries on hold to focus on the country. In fact, Xiaomi has increased shipments of its handsets to India from 50,000 per week to 200,000 to meet demand.
The company typically sells between 65,000 to 100,000 units per week, with events such as Diwali causing spikes of up to 175,000 phones sold. Xiaomi is also exploring options with Foxconn to manufacture its phones in India or Indonesia.