Mobile By Ryan Whitwam Dec. 17, 2015 1:32 pm
HTC was one of the top smartphone makers just a few years ago. Its phones were considered some of the best you could get with Android, and before that it was the undisputed king of the (much smaller) Windows Mobile ecosystem. Things haven’t gone particularly well more recently, though, and now HTC is facing a sales ban in Germany that could go into effect later this month.
The case was brought by a US firm called Acacia Research Corporation, which owns a number of patents HTC uses in its phones. Acacia holds what are known as “standard-essential” patents. It’s not the inventor of these patents, just a licensing firm (that files a lot of cases in the eastern district of Texas, if you catch my drift). These patents are broad and necessary for a phone to function as intended, so the holders are usually required to offer reasonable licensing terms to all firms.
Acacia had deals in place with Apple, Samsung, and others, but not HTC as a whole. The two companies previously settled a lawsuit in the US over patents by forging a licensing deal, but that had no bearing on the German case. The injunction against HTC was granted on November 27, and is now set to go into effect. When it begins, HTC will be unable to sell its phones through Deutsche Telekom, the largest supplier of mobile devices in Germany.
HTC says it will be filing an appeal to have the injunction reversed, and it very well might be successful. Most sales bans are resolved fairly quickly after they go into effect. HTC certainly can’t afford to be blocked from selling phones. It needs all the sales it can get. It’s expected to release a new line of wearables and updated flagship One smartphones in early 2016.