After the Oppo/Nokia saga, it’s Motorola/Lenovo’s turn to have a tough time in Germany with a sales ban. The cause: patent infringement.
Reported by the media WirtschaftsWoche on May 10, 2024, this situation results from a judgment by the Munich district court stipulating that the Lenovo group and de facto its subsidiary Motorola have infringed a patent of the American technology developer InterDigital on some of their devices. This specifically concerns smartphones and laptops with cellular modems, whether 4G or 5G compatible.
Speaking to WirtschaftsWoche, a spokesperson for the Munich court summarized the sentence handed down against Lenovo: “The defendants are prohibited from marketing […] or to import into Germany objects infringing the patent. In addition, damages must be paid”.
Lenovo has announced its intention to challenge the German court’s decision. For information, the group criticizes InterDigital for excessive licensing fees, an assertion that the British justice system validated in June 2023 following a trial.