Ban on cell phone sales: Oppo reaches agreement with InterDigital

The Chinese tech company Oppo and the US patent exploiter InterDigital have settled their patent disputes. In a statement, cell phone manufacturer Oppo, which also owns the OnePlus brand, spoke of a "global patent licensing agreement".

Legal disputes with InterDigital are the reason why cell phones from Oppo and OnePlus are currently only sold in Germany as remaining stocks at best. Many newer devices are not even available in Germany. This could soon change.

"Oppo rejects unreasonable license fees"

"Oppo is always committed to respecting intellectual property rights, but strongly opposes unreasonably high license fees for patents," writes Oppo's patent manager Vincent Lin in a short statement. "Oppo will continue to advocate for reasonable license fees and a long-term and healthy intellectual property ecosystem," it continues.

There is no further information on the background to the deal with InterDigital. There is also no explicit confirmation that the agreement will lift the sales ban in Germany. As Oppo is talking about an international agreement, this is likely to be a formality. Out-of-court settlements must also be approved by the judiciary.

Agreement also reached with Lenovo

InterDigital reached an agreement with Lenovo just a few weeks ago. Since then, Motorola cell phones and mobile-capable notebooks from the manufacturer have been available again in Germany. InterDigital is one of the most notorious patent exploiters in the USA and holds mobile phone patents, among others.

Companies sued by InterDigital often accuse InterDigital of not offering its own patents on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms" ("FRAND").

(dahe)