After Oppo and OnePlus, another China-based brand Vivo recently faced a major legal backlash in Germany. That too is due to Finland’s popular smartphone maker Nokia. In fact, the district court in Mannheim, Germany ruled in favor of Nokia in a patent infringement case filed against Vivo in April this year. Similar cases were also filed against the company in question as well as Oppo and OnePlus brands, and both the cases were won by the Finland-based brand. After which the sale of devices by both Oppo and OnePlus companies was banned in the German market. And now this same fate is going to happen to Vivo too. In other words, the company now has to close its business from Germany by obeying the court’s decision. To clarify one point, Finnish equipment supplier Nokia is behind the patent infringement lawsuits against the three smartphone manufacturers in question. HMD Global does not own the company’s smartphone business.
Vivo has decided to close its online store in Germany
Vivo had a deal with Nokia to use WLAN connectivity in their smartphones. But since sometime after the agreement was signed, Vivo was using Nokia’s patented WLAN connection technology in its devices without a valid license. In view of which the Finland-based company filed a patent infringement complaint against Vivo. The hearing suggested, however, that Vivo could continue to sell its phones in Germany by renewing its licensing agreement with Nokia. But rather than compromise, the Chinese brand has decided to spin off its business from Germany.
Vivo has now shut down the official website of their Germany branch due to a patent infringement case. Which means, the residents of the said country will no longer be able to buy any Vivo brand products in the near future. But before shutting down their website, Vivo posted a small note on the home page. Which we thought was probably a way of saying goodbye to German customers. The note said – ‘Vivo products and product related information will no longer be available on this website.’
However, the company has assured that customer service will always be available for existing Vivo customers and their devices will continue to receive new software and security updates in the future.
Interestingly, Vivo did not clearly mention the reason for the closure of their online store and whether the move is temporary or permanent on the German website.
