Xiaomi Banned From Selling, Advertising, Manufacturing Or Importing Handsets In India
Officials have been ordered to visit Xiaomi India's office to ensure it does not sell, advertise, manufacture or import devices, according to reports.
By Sadho Ram — 11 Dec 2014, 10:39 AM — Updated almost 10 years ago
Fresh from a ban on Uber and then other unlicensed taxi apps in New Delhi, the city's High Court on Monday issued an interim order restraining Xiaomi from importing and selling some of its smartphones in India
The Delhi High Court in an interim order has restrained Xiaomi as well as online e-commerce site
Flipkart from selling in India handsets of the Chinese mobile maker that run on the technology patented by Ericsson.
The court has also restrained Xiaomi or its agents from making, assembling, importing or offering for sale its devices which are infringing the mobile phone technology patented by Ericsson. It isn't clear right now if this will affect the sales of all Xiaomi handsets in India, or if the case pertains to any specific devices.
firstpost.com
Customs authorities have been directed to prevent import of Xiaomi phones that are infringing the patents of Ericsson and if any consignment is imported, the same be informed to Ericsson and its objections be decided as per the Intellectual Property Rules
It has been reported that the ex parte order has injuncted Xiaomi from selling, advertising, manufacturing or importing devices that infringe the SEPs (Standard, Essential Patents) in question. It is not clear if the order will impact all Xiaomi devices sold in India or specifica devices that violate the patents.
In fact, the judge also directed the customs officials to stop the imports under the IPR Rules, 2007. Moreover, local commissioners too have been appointed to visit Xiaomi India offices to ensure the implementation of the order.
It also issued summons and notice to Xiaomi and Flipkart and directed them to file an affidavit disclosing the number of devices - that are AMR, EDGE and 3G compliant - sold by them in India till date. They have to also indicate in the affidavit the revenue earned by selling these devices till date.
The court has also appointed three local commissioners to visit the premises of Xiaomi and Flipkart where the devices are stored in order to inspect and collect documents as well as seal the infringing mobiles. The total fees of the local commissioners, amounting to Rs 3.5 lakh shall be borne by Ericsson apart from travel and stay expenses, it said.
The local commissioners have to submit their report within four weeks, it also said.
firstpost.com
Meanwhile, following the ban on its smartphone business, Xiaomi has said it is ready to open talks with Ericsson
Xiaomi sells its Mi3, Redmi and Redmi Note phablet in India, but it is not clear which models are affected by this ruling.
In a statement provided to TechCrunch, Ericsson described Xiaomi’s use of its Standard, Essential Patents (SEPs) as “unfair.” It said its action is “a last resort” after Xiaomi ignored more than three years of communication requests:
techcrunch.com
Xiaomi — which began selling devices in India in July — claimed it had not received correspondence from the high court, but it did state its willingness to discuss the issue with Ericsson:
ndtv.com
Ericsson is said to be negotiating compensation for patents with a number of Indian smartphone makers, and it could be that its dispute with Xiaomi goes the same way.
techcrunch.com