The latest lawsuit between Panasonic and Xiaomi and Oppo involves wireless communications technology, according to Panasonic. The company said this is the first time it has felt the need to take action over its standard-essential patents.
The Japanese electronics company added that it had reached licensing agreements with other smartphone makers but could not reach a consensus with Xiaomi and Oppo “after years of bilateral negotiations.”
Panasonic shared that the lawsuits were being filed simultaneously in China, Germany, the UK and the European UPC Court.
Chinese smartphone makers are embroiled in a series of patent disputes. Some lawsuits have forced them to withdraw from some European markets. In 2022, for example, Oppo lost a lawsuit against Nokia in Germany, resulting in a ban on the sale of several OnePlus and Oppo models in the Western European country.
The Mannheim City Court (Germany) ruled that Oppo's use of certain 4G and 5G communications technologies violated Nokia's patents. The Chinese company has since removed information about all products from its German website, while OnePlus has also removed information about its smartphones. OnePlus headphones and accessories can still be purchased from its German website.
Vivo, Oppo’s sister company, was forced to stop selling its products in Germany in May after losing a lawsuit against Nokia. In October 2022, it canceled plans to sell its products in the Netherlands, where Nokia filed a similar lawsuit.
At home, Xiaomi has also been sued by fellow countryman Huawei over patents on its lock screen mechanism and other designs. In the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi was the world’s third-largest smartphone maker with a 12% market share, behind Samsung and Apple, according to data from Counterpoint Research. Oppo came in fourth with a 10% market share as it lost ground in Western Europe.
(According to SCMP)
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