Patent dispute with Nokia could halt Vivo sales in a major European country

Vivo is embroiled in a patent dispute with Nokia and in a press release dated Tuesday via (AndroidCentral), the Chinese phone maker said, "Vivo fully respects intellectual property and is committed to continuous innovation through extensive research and development. In recent years, Vivo has entered into cross-licensing agreements with numerous leading companies. We have negotiated with Nokia about renewing the mutual licenses but so far have not been able to reach an agreement."

Vivo goes on to say, "We firmly believe that Nokia has failed to fulfill its obligation to offer a license on "FRAND" (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms. A standard essential patent (SEP) is one that companies must license in order to meet a technical standard. That is why such a patent is licensed using FRAND terms. Apparently, Nokia has such a patent that Vivo needs to license but the latter is being asked to pay what it considers an outrageous sum to license it.

The press release was released in German and we used Google Translate to get the above English translation. A decision by the District Court of Mannheim was entered against Vivo leading the company to say that it is willing to suspend all operations, including the sales and marketing of its devices, in Germany. First, though, the company will file an appeal against the court's decision and get Nokia to sit down with it in an attempt to get the company to license its patent on FRAND terms.

Without having the license to use the technology that Nokia has patented, Vivo has no choice but to stop selling its products in Germany. Still, Vivo is telling its German customers that it continues to be committed to Germany in the long term. The company said that it will "continue to be present in Germany in the future, and our customers can continue to rely on our service."

Vivo is one of the many phone brands owned by China's BBK Electronics including Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, and iQOO. Last August, OnePlus and Oppo had to stop phone sales in Germany after Nokia sued the pair over the use of 5G technology.

On April 20th, Vivo is expected to introduce the Vivo X Fold 2, a sequel to its first foldable model, and the X Flip clamshell flipper. While both of the foldables will see the light of day in China, it's possible that the legal issues will prevent the pair from being offered in Germany.